Raging Fire
by WildWitch12
Summary: In this alternate sequel to The Hunger Games, things take an unexpected turn as someone close to Katniss is forced to compete in the 75th Hunger Games. Now, Katniss must mentor her friend to survival, or lose him forever.    I am not Suzanne Collins.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I clutch my bow tightly as I walk, my footsteps next to silent under my boots. There are no words to express how it feels to be back in my woods again, hunting like the old days before this whole nightmare began. But it isn't really like the old days. Not exactly. Gale, my old hunting partner and closest friend, has finally gone to work in the mine that District 12 is famous for. He can only join me on Sundays now. Even when he is here, things are different somehow. We still talk like we used to, but it just doesn't feel the same. I suppose it probably never will. How could it? So much has happened in the last year. No matter how hard I try to forget, I still awake screaming from my nightmares. It probably doesn't help that Gale had to watch me make out with Peeta, my fellow District 12 tribute, all over a television screen.

Of course, Peeta and I have barely spoken since our return. Our romance was supposed to be fake. A show to be put on for the rich members of the capitol who live for that sort of drama. But somewhere along the line, I guess Peeta stopped faking. Or maybe he never was. I don't know. I'm not even sure about my own feelings, but I was much too preoccupied with staying alive than sorting out whatever I felt toward Peeta Mellark. We definitely got a lot closer over the course of our nightmarish experience together. But closer in what way, I'm not really sure. It doesn't really matter now anyway, the way things are between us at the moment. Peeeta is being completely unfair in my opinion. But for some reason, my opinion doesn't seem to keep me from feeling guilty. I still don't know how the hunger games has suddenly turned the girl who's never been on a date in her life into the girl with all of the romantic issues.

I sigh silently after taking a glimpse of the sky through a gap in the trees. The position of the sun tells me my morning is ticking away. There's enough time to check the snares, expertly set up by Gale, before heading back to the gap in the fence. I add the few rabbits and the squirrel to my game bag and set off. After hiding my bow and arrows in a hollow tree, I approach the fence. As always, I listen closely for the hum that means the electric fence, that supposedly protects our district from the woods, was on. As usual, it wasn't. I shimmy under the fence with my game bag and make my way to Gale's house. I know Gale is off working in the mines at the moment, which is precisely why I chose to go now. He would be upset if he found out that I was sneaking game over to his mother, but I know he would do the same for me. Gale just doesn't like to think that he can't take care of his family.

Of course, even Gale can't pretend that he can provide for the Hawthorne family all on his own. His mother's laundry-washing business only pays so much, and mining won't get you very far either. Now that he has to work during the time he would normally spend hunting, money is even tighter than usual. And that's saying something when it comes to any of the families living in the Seam. During the 74th Hunger Games, he didn't have me to help out. Plus, he didn't want his brother to have to take out tesserae, which would result in his name being added to the reaping extra times. As a result, he began training Rory, the eldest of his younger siblings, to hunt. He's about a year older than my sister, Prim, so he's old enough to begin learning the ways of the woods now. Actually, he's the same age Gale was when I met him in the woods a lifetime ago. I've been continuing Rory's training some because Gale is so busy. I thought it would be weird at first, but it really isn't. Considering my closeness with Gale, Rory is a bit like a brother to me. It's been nice to spend a little more time with him. Besides, it's amazing to watch how he's taken to the woods so quickly. He's a natural like his brother.

I reach the Hawthorne home and knock on the door with my knuckles. I can hear a faint shuffling coming from inside the little house before the door swings back to reveal my little hunting apprentice, Rory. Well okay, maybe he's not so little. Like many teenage boys, Rory has hit quite the growth spurt recently. He's nearly 6 feet tall, if he isn't there already. Although he still has the Seam's characteristic dark hair, olive skin, and grey eyes, he looks so different than the little Rory I remember from several years ago. I guess Gale and I have been looking out for our families for so long that I didn't notice when our younger siblings started to grow up. Now, standing in front of Rory, I can see how much he's matured. He's grown some good-sized muscles, his childish physique disappearing. And I swear, he looks more and more like Gale every day.

"Hey, Katniss! You got another load of laundry for Mom?" Rory asks. 'Laundry' is actually code for the fresh game I've been bringing them. Technically speaking, hunting in the woods outside the district is illegal. However, the peacekeepers we have here in District 12 don't really enforce that rule. Food is a bit difficult to come by, particularly for people living in the Seam. The peacekeepers appreciate the availability of fresh game just as much as we do. Some of them are among my best customers down at the Hob, where the somewhat shady dealings of people buying and selling goods take place. Even so, it's best not to make it too obvious when you're involved in illegal practices.

"Yup!" I reply as Rory steps aside to let me into the house so we can continue our conversation in private. The Hawthorne home reminds me a bit of the house I used to live in with my mother and sister before we moved to the Victors' Village, where the houses are bigger and nicer, but just don't feel like home to me. Houses in the Seam are smaller, simpler, and more intimate somehow. Well, I think so, anyway. My mom and Prim seem thrilled with the upgrade, and it's good to see them happy. I set my game bag down on one of the wooden chairs as Rory closes the door. "I've brought you guys a couple of rabbits today. They should make a good stew," I say, removing the dead, furry creatures from the bag. Rory takes them and examines them.

"It still amazes me how you always manage to get them right through the eye. Gale was right about your bow skills," he says in admiration, making me blush as he so often does. Rory is quite the charmer, but in the most genuine way possible. He's honestly just a sweet guy. After getting passed the idea that he's old enough to start drawing attention, it doesn't surprise me when Prim says that all of the girls at school go nuts over him.

"You'll get there, it just takes practice," I say simply. "Gale and I are both impressed with how far you've come so quickly. Speaking of which, I think you may be about ready to start going out by yourself more often. You know I'm going to be gone for a little over a week for the Victory Tour," I remind him. Not that he needs reminding, but he knows that I prefer not to talk about my participation in last year's Hunger Games, so this is the first time I've brought it up. I've been putting off having to think about the tour for as long as possible. "So, you'll have to hunt without me for a bit."

"Yeah, I thought about that," Rory admits, scratching behind his ear as he sometimes does when he's nervous. "It's a lot of pressure going alone, Katniss. What happens if I can't find anything to kill?" he asks. This is one reason why Gale and I put off teaching Rory to hunt for as long as we did. It does put a lot of pressure on you to be a primary caregiver to your family. But this kid has been hunting for several months now, and has taken to the woods like a duck to water. Or, so I'm told, anyway. We don't exactly have a lot of duck ponds in District 12.

I nod understandingly. "I worried about the same thing after my dad died, and suddenly it was up to me to make sure my family didn't starve. But don't worry, you're a good hunter. I'm confident that you can keep your family fed while I'm away," I say as reassuringly as I can. I'm really not good at pep talks. Peeta is the one who always knows what to say. That's why I'm grateful that he'll be with me on this Victory Tour, even though I'm not exactly his favorite person at the moment. "And if somehow you don't think you'll have enough to eat, feel free to eat with my family in the Victor's Village. We have plenty to eat and they'd be happy to have company," I continue.

I can see that the doubt hasn't left Rory's eyes. "That's very generous, Katniss, but you know Gale…" he says, his words layered with uncertainty. I nod. I do know Gale. I know that Gale has no desire to mooch off of anyone else, no matter what the circumstances. It doesn't matter that he's my closest friend, and that my family and I will gladly help out the Hawthornes in any way that we can. Of course, I know I would feel the same way if the situation were reversed. I also know that he would do whatever he could to help my family anyway. Because that's what Gale and I do. We're partners. We look after each other and our families.

"I know, he's stubborn. Just tell him that my mom invited your family over because she feels lonely with everybody in the Victors' Village gone," I say, quickly making up a lie. Making up lies is one thing I have gotten good at. Gale and I make up lies sometimes to cover up our illegal activities. I make up lies when times are tough so that I don't worry my family. I've even lied to myself some over the past year, telling myself that I was sure everything was going to be fine even though I was sure of no such thing. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, Rory, but you did fine hunting by yourself while I was still… away. And you've improved since then. You'll be fine."

Rory seems to consider this for a moment, then nods. "Whatever it takes to take care of my family," he says determinedly. "Thanks, Katniss."

I smile at the boy who has grown up so much in the past few months before grabbing my game bag and going off to make my trades at the Hob. I can't help noticing how Rory represents so many young people in District 12 these days. So many children have been forced to grow up too fast, the weight of their family's well being on their shoulders. Everything is changing. Everyone can feel it, and everyone is affected by it. Exactly what everything is changing into, I'm still not sure. But I have a feeling that I'm about to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I'm running through the woods as fast as my feet can carry me. My knuckles are white from clutching the strap on the sheath of arrows across my back so tightly. I can't seem to suck down oxygen fast enough. But I can't stop. I must dodge trees, keep moving forward. If I don't, I will die. I know the enemy is closing in on me, but I don't dare turn around. I don't dare do anything but put one foot in front of the other. Just when I think I can't run another step, the ground beneath my aching feet seems to read my mind. I trip over a bare tree root, landing flat on my face. I have just enough time to flip onto my back before I'm pounced upon by an overgrown, mutated wolf with the deep brown eyes of someone I once called a friend.

I scream and sit straight up, my blankets forming a tangled mass around my legs. I can tell from the cooling sensation caused by the light breeze blowing in from the window and across my forehead that I've been sweating. Gently, I peel myself away from my nightmare-induced cocoon and pull the window shut. The sun is just barely beginning to make its daily appearance, bathing the Victors' Village in a sleepy grey. I sigh. These horrifying dreams have gone past the point of being annoying. Even though the 74th Hunger Games are over for most of Panem, I don't think they'll ever be over for me. I consider trying to go back to sleep, but I know it will be pointless. Even if I do somehow manage it, I'll just be diving into another arena nightmare.

In the end, I decide to go downstairs. My mom and Prim are still asleep, so the house is quiet. Not knowing what else to do, I plop down on our couch in front of our fancy television, but I don't turn it on. I just sit there in silence, trying not to let my mind wander to the inevitable Victory Tour. I suppose at some point, I drift off into a dreamless sleep, because the next thing I know, there are voices coming from the kitchen. The sun is a bit higher in the sky now, bringing color to the outside world. Rubbing my eyes, I make my way over to the kitchen before stopping short. My mom and Prim are preparing breakfast for all of us, but that's not what makes me stop. They do that every morning. Helping my sister with her goat's cheese is none other than my fellow District 12 victor, Peeta Mellark.

Even though he's living right next door, Peeta and I have hardly spoken since we got back home. Honestly, things have been a bit awkward between us. It's more than a little strange to see him in my kitchen this morning. After standing there frozen for a moment, I decide there's no reason why this boy should keep me from walking into my own kitchen. So, I persuade my legs to move and continue toward the confusing scene before me. It's Peeta who notices me first. "Katniss!" he says as if he's been here all along and I've only been gone for an hour or two. My mom and Prim look up at the sound of my name.

"Morning," I blurt out, my lips working on autopilot. I want to ask what's going on, but can't find a way to word the question without sounding rude or making the situation more awkward than it already is. So, I go and have a seat at the kitchen table and wait for somebody to start explaining.

"Buttercup did the funniest thing earlier! I accidently dropped a bit of cheese on his nose and he went completely crazy trying to lick it off. It was so adorable!" Prim pipes up with a giggle. I smile at her, even though I've never actually considered anything that horribly ugly cat has done to be funny or adorable. Buttercup and I have never actually seen eye to eye on anything, other than wanting to see Prim happy and healthy.

"The poor guy. He could smell it, but had the hardest time getting to it," Peeta chimes in. I keep my grin painted on my face, but I raise an eyebrow to the baker's son, silently asking the question that everyone knows is on my mind. Peeta takes the hint. Always perceptive, that one. "Katniss, could I possibly have a quick word with you?" he asks. I nod and stand up from the table.

"All right, but breakfast will be ready soon!" my mom calls from the stove. The thought now occurs to me that my mom might honestly be clueless about the tension going on between Peeta and I lately. She's often clueless, but I prefer it that way. It's for her own good.

"This won't take long," Peeta promised before following me away from the kitchen and into the little study, where I know we won't be overheard. It's a smallish room, but pretty nice, I guess. There's a desk and a few chairs. It's not used much, but Prim does her homework in here sometimes. Peeta takes a seat as I close the door behind us. Then I sit across from him, not really knowing what to say. Luckily, I didn't have to know. "I'm sorry for just showing up like this," Peeta begins.

I feel the need to say something now, but all that comes out is "Sure." I'm not really sure what I mean by that, but thankfully Peeta is able to ignore my stupidity and continue.

"I wanted to apologize about getting mad at you once we got back to District 12. It wasn't fair of me. After all, our whole romance was just supposed to be a ploy to get us sponsors," he continues. I don't even try to say anything this time. "I thought maybe we could try just being friends. I've missed you lately."

Finally, I'm able to find my words. "I've missed you too," I admit with a smile. Leave it to Peeta to make a long period of awkwardness disappear in a matter of minutes. "Friends sounds perfect."

Peeta smiles. "It's settled, then. And just in time for this Victory Tour. You still having nightmares, too?"

I nod. "Every night. Do you think they'll ever stop?"

"I don't know. I don't think this is something people can just get over. But at least we have each other. Haymitch has had to deal with it all alone," he points out.

"No wonder he drinks!" I exclaim. We both laugh. It feels good to laugh with Peeta again, even if it's just over our never-sober mentor, the victor of the 50th Hunger Games. Peeta's fingers slipped into mine, the way they had numerous times before. It was comforting, feeling like I had him back on my side again.

"We'd better head back before breakfast gets cold," Peeta suggests.

"Lead the way."

A day later, it's all about preparing for this stupid tour. My prep team arrived first thing in the morning, and are now complaining about everything from the dirt under my nails to my unkempt eyebrows. "Well, we've certainly got our work cut out for us," Octavia was saying. My prep team is from the capitol, so they all participate in the many strange fashion trends the people there seem to like. Octavia dyes not only her hair, but her skin as well. It's currently a forest green color.

"It almost reminds me of when she first came to us," Flavius comments as if I'm not sitting in a tub about a foot away. Flavius has orange hair that he keeps in a corkscrew shape and seems to enjoy wearing purple lipstick.

"We pulled off a miracle then, we can do it now!" Venia chimed in confidently. Venia's aqua hair is kept gelled up in spikes and she has these golden tattoos above her eyebrows.

Pretty soon they get to work, scrubbing me down with flowery-smelling chemicals and running gels through my hair. Talk of my physical state soon morphs into the usual gossip about all the goings-on at the capitol. Who is dating who, who is still on last month's fashion trends, who has thrown the best parties this season, and various other topics that I know nothing about. By the time I've been plucked and shaved until my body is practically hairless, I've been told all about the fabulous dresses that my stylist, Cinna, has designed for the tour.

After several hours of prepping, I'm exhausted. Even my skin aches, but that's probably just from all of the waxing. I go downstairs to relax for a bit and am surprised to find Haymitch sitting in my living room. I would have expected him to be passed out in his filthy kitchen right now. "Hey there, Sweetheart," he calls to me as I enter the room.

"What's up, Haymitch?" I ask, plopping down in a chair. Haymitch isn't one to come pay a casual visit, even with his next-door neighbors, so I know he's here for a reason. Neither of us likes to beat around the bush, so no polite conversation is required before getting to the point.

"You remember what I told you before you did your post-games interview? About having to be really convincing about your love for Peeta?" Haymitch asks. I nod, my heart skipping a beat. He'd told me that President Snow thought that my scheme during last year's Huger Games, where Peeta and I had threatened to kill ourselves, was some sort of rebellious act against the capitol. It hadn't been, of course. I just didn't want to have to kill Peeta, and he didn't want to have to kill me. Basically, my only chance to appease the president was to prove to all of Panem that it was simply a crazy act of love for Peeta. We'd even told everyone that Gale and his siblings were my cousins to explain my close relationship with Gale and squash the rumors of us having a relationship.

"Well, my sources tell me that Snow is still uneasy about the whole thing. You and the other one had better love it up during the tour, or things could be bad for a lot of people," Haymitch warns me, his voice as serious as a drunk man's can be. Great. As if this upcoming tour wasn't stressful enough, a whole lot more pressure had just been dumped onto the situation. If President Snow thinks I'm starting some sort of rebellion against him, who knows what he'll do to me? To Peeta? To our families?

"Still? Peeta and I were positively disgusting during all of our interviews and appearances after the games!" I exclaim. The two of us had been stuck together like glue. If I'd been at home watching us, I'd probably feel as though I were about to lose my lunch. I can't imagine what more we can possibly do to convince people that we acted out of love alone.

"Don't tell me, Sweetheart. Snow is the one you have to convince," Haymitch points out.

"Fine," I reply stubbornly, realizing that Haymitch is right. Arguing with him will get me nowhere. "But I want to tell Peeta what's going on this time. He was upset that he wasn't in on the messages you were sending me with the food. And he was right, he's a part of this team too." During the games, Haymitch had taken a habit to sending me food as a reward for playing up the lover's card. I'd caught on and in that way Haymitch and I had a sort of unspoken agreement. Peeta hadn't been in on it, but he'd played the role of a lover beautifully anyway.

"If you feel you must," Haymitch replied with a shrug. "Just make sure that whatever you do, you put on a convincing show."

"I'll be so glad when this is all over, and I can stop having to put on a convincing show," I say, putting my head in my hands. It was all so stressful, too much pressure.

"You can't ever stop, I'm afraid," Haymitch says simply. When I give him a puzzled look, he elaborates. "People aren't ever going to stop looking at you. People will always be following the story of the star-crossed lovers from District 12."

"And if I stop pretending to love Peeta, people will think it really was an act of rebellion," I continue, finally catching on. "I have to marry Peeta." Marriage was something I'd hardly even considered before. The idea of being 17 years old and already knowing who I was going to marry, not having any say in the matter, is crazy. It doesn't matter who the person is. This isn't how my life was supposed to go.

"Well don't sound so disappointed," Haymitch says, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You could do a whole lot worse." And with that, he gets up and leaves, presumably to return to his house and drink. I sit in my chair for a few minutes and realize that Haymitch is right. I could do much worse than Peeta Mellark.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I'm sorry about the long wait! Things have been crazy. I'm also sorry that a lot of what happened so far is so similar to the book, but if this is to be a true sequel we have to get through a few things before getting to the new plot.

Chapter 3

Finally, the day of the not even slightly anticipated Victory Tour is upon us. I've already told Peeta about President Snow, and how we have to try really hard to prove to all of Panem that we're madly in love. "Don't worry, Katniss. There won't be a doubt in anyone's mind by the time we're back," he'd assured me. Strangely, his words had made me feel a little better, even though I knew that there was no way he could possibly know that for sure. Maybe it was just knowing that I'm not alone in all this.

"Come on everyone, let's get a move on! We don't want to be behind schedule before the tour even begins!" exclaims Effie Trinket, our escort who always makes sure we're on time for everything. Although it's a bit annoying to be rushed like this, I get moving anyway because I fear that if I don't, Effie's head might explode. "Chop chop!" she says, clapping her bony hands in our direction.

I hug my mom and Prim, telling them that I love them and will be home soon. Neither of them know about the dangers that they could face if Peeta and I don't convince President Snow of our love during this tour. I don't want to worry them. All I can do for them is try my best. Silently, I hope that my best will be enough.

Soon, I'm back on the train that had first taken Peeta and I away from District 12 to compete in last year's games. It will bring us around to all of the districts during the tour. We'll start in District 11, going around to all of the districts in turn, then to the capitol and, finally, we'll end in our home district, District 12. And then who knows where my life will be going from there? I shudder slightly at the thought of my question as the train begins to glide smoothly across the tracks.

Peeta's hand finds its way to my shoulder. I swear it's like he can read my mind sometimes. "Don't worry. Come on, I want to show you something," he whispers. I follow him off to another compartment of the train. This had been his quarters during our last journey in this fancy capitol-owned locomotive. It has a somewhat homey appeal with strange wall hangings placed here and there and ia centered by a large, fluffy-looking bed. It makes me want to dive right into the middle and sink into the plush bedding where President Snow will never find me.

"Nice place," I comment. "You miss it any?"

"Not even slightly," Peeta replies with a grin. I know how he feels. The capitol may have nice things, but our only memories of seeing these things up close are associated with things we'd much rather push out of our heads altogether. "Here's what I wanted to show you," he continued, sitting down on his bed with some sort of notebook in his lap.

I sit next to him, feeling my body being absorbed into the fluffy comforter. I'm expecting… I don't know. Speeches for the Victory Tour, because I'm so bad at making those up myself. A Peeta-and-Katniss scrapbook to help convince people of our undying affection for each other. But instead, when he lifts the cover, I see myself staring back at me. Then Thresh, Cato, Glimmer… Even our little cave we had shared together. Peeta has been drawing pictures of last year's games.

And they're horrible. Not poorly drawn, Peeta is a wonderful artist. But they're horrible. Horrifying. I'm at a loss of what to say. Such realistic replications of my time in the arena are now staring me right in the face.

"What do you think?" Peeta asks finally.

"They're terrible."

Petta just laughs. "They scare me too," he admits. "This is just my way of dealing with everything, I guess. I thought I'd share them with you because you're the only person who really understands how it feels. Well, the only sober person who knows. I guess it's just better knowing we're in this together."

I nod, having just been thinking the same thing not long ago. It's nice knowing I have a friend to help me through all of this. I just hope that will be enough. "You're still a wonderful artist," I tell him, not knowing what else to say.

"I should be, I've decorated enough of those stupid cakes that nobody can afford to buy."

The next day, we're in District 11. I knew going into this stupid tour that it would be hard having to stand in front of the families and friends of all of the dead tributes who could have come home in our place, but why did we have to go to Rue's district so soon? I can still picture the little 12 year old girl who died as I sang to her. My ally, my friend. I feel like I have to honor her today somehow, but how? I'm terrible at speeches. I never know what to say.

All too soon, it's time to make my way out onto the stage, right in front of which sits two families. One of them includes several small children, and I know they're Rue's siblings. I want to cry and run back to the train. Only Peeta's hand in mine steadies me as I force a smile and a wave. District 11 is just like Rue said it was. I can tell that many people must have just come from work in the agricultural fields. And there certainly does seem to be a lot more Peacekeepers here than there are back home, and they seem a lot more strict, too.

The district officials all come up one by one and congratulate Peeta and I, and the crowd cheers for us whether they want to or not. This is the horrid nature of the Victory Tour. Meanwhile, Peeta and I try to look as disgustingly lovey-dovey as possible, stealing a few kisses now and then.

Finally, I ask if I can say something. All eyes are now on me, and silence has fallen over the crowd. I can feel my face turning red and hope that all of the makeup my prep team smothered on my face will be enough to hide my blushing cheeks. "Um…" I begin, very charismatically. "Hi. I wanted to thank you all for coming…" not that they had a choice. "I'm very sorry for your losses. I considered Rue to be a dear friend of mine. And Thresh spared my life once, for which I'm very grateful," I say, my heart pounding in my ears. I know it all sounds very rehearsed, which, of course, it is. I try to remember the rest of what I had written out, but nothing came to mind.

"We're both very grateful," Peeta chimed in, just in time. I allowed the tears to start sliding down my face, partly because crying seemed like a good excuse to be at a loss for words and partly because I couldn't hold them in any longer. "He spared Katniss when she had gone to get medicine for me. Neither of us would be alive right now if it wasn't for Thresh. And I know that he cared about Rue, too. And I remember Katniss told me that Rue saved her life once as well." I nod, beautifully dark streaks of eye makeup now form squiggly lines across my rosy blush. "We'll never forget either of them," Peeta finishes.

The crowd is silent. Several moments pass, and I'm unsure of what to do with myself. Then an old man in the middle of the crowd raises 3 fingers to his lips, and then into the air. Pretty soon, others follow his example. This is something we do back home in District 12 to show respect. I'm truly moved by the gesture, particularly when Rue's and Thresh's family joins in, but before I even have time to react, I'm being quickly whisked away and back to the train. Just before the door closes I'm sure I hear a gunshot.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I'm sure I've asked this before, but when did my life get so complicated?

The rest of the Victory Tour was pretty uneventful, though a bit more structured. All of our speeches were kept very short and written out for us in advance. I still don't know what happened to that man in the crowd of District 11, but I can only guess it was nothing good. It would appear that the Capitol is even more scared of rebellion than I realized, which has kept me progressively more scared for everyone I love. Our stop in the Capitol brought me face to face with the white devil himself, President Snow. If I'm any good at reading people's emotions, he's not too terribly pleased with me.

Back in District 12, I feel like my life could blow up at any moment. Surely it's only a matter of time before Peacekeepers come breaking down my front door. There are more of them here than there used to be. A knock the morning after my arrival back home nearly makes my heart pound out of my chest.

"I'll get it!" I exclaim a bit quicker than any calm and collected person would. I have no idea what I could possibly do to help my family if it is people who are here to take us all away, but somehow it makes me feel slightly better to be the one to welcome them into our home. After taking a deep breath to steady myself, I turn the doorknob and brace myself to face my fate waiting for me on the opposite side of an inch-and-a-half thick piece of wood.

"Katniss, I'm glad you're home!" says my definitely not a Peacekeeper friend, Rory. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. And then I suck it back in.

"Is everything okay? How's your family? Gale…?"

"He's okay! Everyone's fine," Rory says quickly. I let my breath out again, thinking I very well may pass out if I have to continue on this emotional roller coaster. "It's just that… Things have changed a bit around here since you left. I thought I ought to tell you."

"Yeah, I noticed all the new Peacekeepers." Rory nods and then looks around as if they were hiding around the corner.

"Do you think I could come inside?"

"Of course, come in," I say as I step aside to let Rory into my fancy victor's home. The thought hits me that I probably should have already invited him in. I'm still not used to the whole playing hostess thing.

"Who was that, Katniss?" Prim calls from the kitchen. I'm reminded that only a few moments ago I was worried that we'd all be on our way to the Capitol by now.

"Rory's here! We're gonna be in the study." The sound of a spoon hitting the counter came from the kitchen.

"Careful, Prim. Wipe that up, please. Rory! What a nice surprise. Would you like to stay for breakfast? We'd love to have you!" asks my mother, who lives to play hostess now that we've been upgraded to a house that we could never afford in a million years.

"Thanks, Mrs. Everdeen, but I can't stay long. I've got to get back and help my mom," Rory politefully declines just as Prim suddenly materializes.

"Hey, Rory! Are you sure you can't stay?" my little sister asks, blonde pigtails bobbing. "We've got fresh toast, just baked the bread earlier this morning." Rory grins.

"That's really tempting, Primy, especially if your amazing goat cheese is involved." Prim beams. "I really can't, though. I promised my mom," Rory says in the most apologetic way possible. I really should try to break up this little love fest, because these two are supposed to be cousins and all, but I'm way too much of a pushover when it comes to Prim. Besides, I would end up embarrassing everyone involved.

"That's okay. I'll pack you up some to take home!" Prim offers.

"That'd be great, thanks," Rory accepts, clearly not thinking about what to say to Gale when he finds out that his little brother went and picked up breakfast at the Everdeen household. Prim disappears almost as fast as she arrived and I open the door to the study, ushering Rory inside.

"Got a bit of a soft spot for toasted bread and goat cheese?" I tease. Rory blushes.

"I'd be a fool not to accept, especially in these times."

"These times? What's been going on here, Rory?" Rory sighs.

"They're cracking down, Katniss. They've got the electrical fence running full-time now. The Hob is gone. There's still a bit of trading that goes on in secret, but even that's been happening less and less ever since a couple of guys got caught."

I sit with my mouth hanging open. For some reason, I never imagined that things had changed this much since I left. How can the Hob just be gone? I can't wrap my head around the concept.

"People got caught? What happened to them?" I ask, unsure if I want to know the answer.

"I don't know," Rory says, a hint of fear showing on his face for the first time. "But as far as I've heard, nobody's seen them since." I'm feeling as if my worst fears have been realized.

"Everything's going to be very different now, isn't it?" I say, even though as a victor I can function perfectly fine without the Hob and with a working electric fence. Rory nods again. As the elder sisterly figure, I feel the need to say something comforting, but I really don't know what to say. "It'll be okay. We all just have to look after each other. Is access to the woods completely blocked out?" Rory cracked a bit of a smile.

"Well, actually… Gale and I found a part of the fence that's got a big clump of weeds growing at the bottom. We dug a hole under the fence that's hidden by the weeds. It's big enough to crawl through if you're careful. I know it's kind of dangerous, but we've got to get food on the table somehow. We're not able to go hunting as often as we used to, though."

I smile at that. I can't help it. That sounds so much like the Gale I know and have been missing more than I'm willing to say out loud.

"Well, now you've got me to help out," I say.

"Katniss, we couldn't possibly ask you to keep helping us, you've done so much already, and it's a much bigger risk now…"

"I don't care," I say truthfully. As if I'm going to let a little added risk keep me from helping them out. The Hawthornes are practically my family. "Gale would do the same for me. Besides, I definitely don't want to be stuck hanging out here all the time." Rory smiles.

"You're so brave, Katniss. But none of us want you to get in trouble on our behalf."

"I can take care of myself. I'm not a victor for nothing." And it's not as if I'm not in plenty of trouble already. Rory sighs, clearly torn. He has a hard time saying no to me. What can I say? I have that affect on guys.

"I guess you have a point. But Katniss, please be careful. None of us could ever forgive ourselves for getting you in trouble."

"I'm not going to get in trouble. But even if I do, it's no one's fault but mine." Rory still seems unsure. "I'll be careful. I promise."

"You'd better be. Or Gale will kill you," he says. We both laugh, which is something I haven't been doing a whole lot of lately. "I should get going, my mom will be wondering where I am."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's missing you," I agree. "Hey, when's the next time you were planning on going hunting with Gale?"

Sunday finds me in my natural habitat; the opposite side of the electric fence I grew up inside. It's a little strange not entering the woods at the edge of the meadow like I usually do, and a lot nerve wracking to have to shimmy under the fence while it's buzzing with electricity, but it doesn't take me long to navigate the woods to the hollow log where I keep my bow. It's comforting somehow to know that it's still here, right where I left it. At least one thing in my life hasn't changed. Now I'm hoping to bring one of the most important aspects of my life back to normal, or as close to normal as it can get at this point.

I make my way to Gale's and my special spot. It's really the only place where I've truly felt like myself since my dad died. Gale and I used to be able to talk about anything here. Hopefully that's still the case, because I need somebody else to confide in. I've been keeping all of my problems a secret from way too many people. Luckily, things have been getting a bit better between Gale and I the last few times I've seen him, but we've had Rory with us.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and barely stifle a scream before realizing it's Gale, sneaking up on me. He comes alone today. I gave Rory the day off so that I can spend my time catching up with an old friend, who seems to be busier and busier these days.

"I thought you were a Peacekeeper or something!" I pant, trying to catch my breath. Gale chuckles, and I realize just how much I've missed the sound.

"You're jumpier than ever, Catnip," Gale says, sitting beside me on our rock. I grin at the sound of my old nickname.

"Can you blame me? It's like they're multiplying."

"Yeah, what's that about? Do you think it has anything to do with you and… Bread Boy?" I roll my eyes.

"_Peeta_," I correct him. Gale frowns slightly at the sound of his name. He's still not exactly thrilled about me having a relationship with another guy, even if it is just a fake one. I should be more sympathetic, but I usually just find myself more annoyed than anything. After all, it's not my fault. My relationship with Peeta is the only reason why I'm still alive today, why my family is alive today, and probably even why Gale is still alive today. "And yes. President Snow is terrified of a rebellion starting." Gale just laughs at that. "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is," Gale counters, though he makes an effort to stifle his humor-filled outburst. "Katniss, people are terrified of the Capitol and the Peacekeepers it produces. Nobody's going to risk their lives or their family's lives in an effort to take over the government of Panem. That could only end in a bloodbath or worse."

"I don't know, Gale, people really seem to like the idea."

"Of course they like the idea! I'm sure there isn't a person in all the 12 districts who wouldn't like to break away from the Capitol. But it's too big of a risk. The odds are in no one's favor." The last sentence is said in a Capitol accent that perfectly matched Effie's. That gets a smile out of me, but not as big of one as it used to. The odds haven't been anywhere near my favor since before last year's reaping.

"Okay, you might be right. But there's no convincing President Snow, and he's going to continue making life in the districts more and more miserable for everyone until he's absolutely sure that he's squashed every hope of rebellion out of every person in Panem." Gale is quiet for a moment and has a serious look on his face, like he's deep in concentration.

"We should just go. Far away from District 12. You and I could make it! We'd be way better off than we are here." I sigh. The thought has occurred to me before. Actually, it's been crossing my mind more and more now that I'm worried about Peacekeepers showing up at my door to take us all away.

"I know we could make it… With just the two of us, anyway. But we have our families to protect!"

"We'll bring them with us! We have three skilled hunters between our two families."

"And we'd have to bring Peeta too! Possibly Haymitch…"

"Bread Boy and the drunk? Katniss…"

"They're in danger, Gale! President Snow thinks Peeta and I are the face of the rebellion!"

"Still? Then we definitely have to get out of here! Let Bread Boy worry about himself."

"We can't just leave him!"

"Why not? Unless all of this star crossed lovers thing is real after all…"

"He's my friend!"

"Since when? I've never seen you say a single word to the guy before last year's reaping!"

"Since we saved each others' lives in the Hunger Games!" That makes Gale shut up for a moment. As much as he hates Peeta, I think that deep down, he really does appreciate everything he did for me last year.

"I want to say I'll think about it, but we may not have much time for thinking if what you say is true."

"It might be a bad idea anyway, Gale. If we get caught out here we'll be in way bigger trouble than if we're caught within the district."

"Who's going to catch us out here?" I look down at my boots as I remember that one day out hunting, seemingly long ago, when we saw a girl get abducted by a Capitol hovercraft. I later saw the same girl in the apartment I lived in during the week leading up to the Hunger Games last year. She'd been turned into an avox; a person with their tongue cut out who is forced to act as a servant in the Capitol. Beside me, I'm sure Gale is being reminded of her, too. "That was a freak thing, Katniss! We've never seen Peacekeepers creeping around here before."

"There have never been Peacekeepers in the woods before, but there have never been this many of them in District 12 before either!" Gale runs his hand through his midnight black hair.

"Okay, fine. But this discussion is not over. I'm not about to let the Capitol try to take you away from me again." Gale puts his arm around me and suddenly I forget what in the world it was I was worrying about only moments ago.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I enter my house in the Victor's Village after a sneaky day of hunting with the Hawthorne boys and risking being barbequed alive by an electric fence. Life doesn't get any better than that.

"There you are, Katniss! Come on, President Snow will be talking soon!" Prim nervously calls to me from our living room.

"President Snow?" I ask, my blood suddenly freezing in my veins. Have my worst fears finally been realized? Has he come to personally kill us all?

"I've got dinner in the oven. It should be done by the time the announcement is over," my mother says as she walks over to meet me at the door. Her voice then drops to a whisper. "If you would sit by Prim, I think it would make her feel a little better. She's a little scared about the Quarter Quell, especially because of what happened last year."

And now it hits me. President Snow isn't in my house. He's about to appear on my television screen, as well as every television screen in Panem. With everything that's been going on, I completely forgot about the Quarter Quell. Every 25 years, the Capitol reminds all of the citizens in the districts that it holds all of the power by making a special version of the games. In the 25th games, members of each district had to vote on which children to send as tributes. During the 50th games, each district had to send twice the normal amount of tributes. That was the year that Haymitch won.

"Right, of course," I agree before hurrying into the living room and take a seat next to my sister on our comfy couch in front of the television. "So, when's Old Ugly coming on?" That gets a smile out of Prim.

"You're so brave, Katniss. You'd never let President Snow scare you," my sister says. I run a hand through her blonde hair.

"The Capitol can tell you what to do, but it will never be ale to tell you what to think, or who to love. That's a power you'll always have over President Nuthead."

"It's about time for things to start up, I think," my mother says as she finally enters the room and turns on the television. Predictably, the Capitol is showing a recap of how they squashed the rebellion over in District 13 many years ago, wiping the district off of Panem's map. Luckily, it's almost over.

In less than 10 minutes, the face of the devil himself fills the screen. He wastes no time and immediately launches into a prewritten speech about the Quarter Quell. What it is, why we have it, how it works, descriptions of the rule changes in past quarter quells, and what they were supposed to remind the districts. The 25th Hunger Games was supposed to remind everyone that it was their own violence that led to the start of the games. The 50th Hunger Games was supposed to remind the districts that for every Capitol citizen killed in the rebellion, two rebels died. Finally, it's time for the announcement of the third Quarter Quell.

Being only 17, this is the first Quarter Quell that I've been alive for, but I've been told how it works. The Capitol doesn't want anybody to forget the reminders that served as the past Quells. Before the start of the Hunger Games, a small wooden box was filled with envelopes that contain the rule changes for the Quells. Every 25 years, the current president reads what's written on the envelope for that year's games.

President Snow reaches into the box and pulls out a yellow envelope that's labeled _75__th__ Hunger Games_. Slowly, in order to prolong everyone's fear and pain, he opens the envelope, pulls out a piece of paper, and unfolds it. An evil smile stretches across his already stretched-out lips. I feel Prim tense up beside me.

"For the 75th Hunger Games…" President Snow begins. "…tributes will each be randomly assigned one other tribute who will be their one target. After killing their target, or after their target is killed through some sort of accident in the arena, their target's target will become their new target. This will continue until only one tribute is left. In the event that a tribute becomes their own target, targets will be randomly reassigned. The devices used to track tributes within the arena will also be used to prohibit tributes from killing someone who isn't their target. This will serve as a reminder of how the Capitol targeted the problem district, and destroyed it. Well, there you have it! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" President Snow's face disappears and my mother turns off the television. I continued to stare at the black screen for a few seconds, unsure of what to make of everything.

"Well… It could have been a lot worse," Prim pipes up.

"It certainly could," I agree, finally tearing my eyes away from the television and placing a hand on my sister's shoulder. It seems a little better in a way, because although there are 23 other tributes in the arena with you, only one of them is able to kill you. But it also means you have to be extremely careful about forming alliances. And, most horrifying of all, it meant that you won't always have the ability to kill somebody who has the ability to kill you. Mostly I think it will just make for more interesting television. That's all most citizens in the Capitol care about anyway.

After the announcement of the Quarter Quell, the day of the reaping came all too soon. Prim's nerves are getting the better of her, and I can't really blame her. The reaping is always a nerve-wracking experience for everyone who has their name entered into one of the two giant glass balls. And poor Prim's name was pulled out of one of those giant glass balls last year, when her name was only entered once. This year her name will be entered twice.

"Hold still, Prim, I'm almost done," my mother says as she braids Prim's hair. Right now, my job is to hold my sister's hand and remind her to breathe. "There! Don't you just look beautiful?"

"She always does," I agree. "And she's got her shirt tucked in and everything. I just have one little thing to add." I pull out my mockingjay pin, the one that my friend Madge, the mayor's daughter, gave me just before I left for the Hunger Games last year. "While you're wearing this, nothing can hurt you." Prim smiled.

"Your mockingjay pin! Thanks so much, Katniss!" my sister exclaims as I pin the golden bird to her collar.

"Let it be a reminder that you always have power over President Snow." We share a smile and hold hands as we make our way to the center of District 12 together.

I stay with Prim for as long as I can, but she eventually has to go line up with the other 13-year-old girls and I have to go find Peeta and Haymitch.

"It's strange not to be standing up there with the other kids," I comment as I wait near the stage with my fellow victors.

"Maybe, but I'm not complaining," Peeta replies with a grin. Haymitch is too drunk to pay much attention to us.

"Me neither. I am nervous for Prim, though." Peeta takes my hand.

"She'll be fine. There's no way her name will be called two years in a row." I hesitate before responding.

"Well, you know the Capitol likes to target victors' kids. It makes for exciting games."

"She's not your kid."

"She's my sister, that's pretty close!" I exclaim, tears starting to form in my eyes as I voice my fears for the first time. I've been concentrating so much on keeping Prim calm that I've hardly even thought about this until now. Peeta pulls me into a hug.

"They're not going to target your sister, Katniss. I wouldn't be surprised if they secretly removed her name from the glass ball." I remove my now puffy-eyed face from Peeta's shoulder and look up at him with a confused expression on my face. "Think about it. They're scared that you're inspiring a rebellion, right? Everyone loves you and your story. Targeting Prim would just make it seem like the Capitol is scared. They are scared, but at this point, their best bet is to make it seem like you're not a threat. Like they're too powerful to be beaten by a teenage girl from District 12."

I stay silent for a moment, the way I think about the Capitol having been completely shaken up. This is one of the many things I love about Peeta. He thinks differently than anybody else I know. I wipe the tears out of my eyes. Everything Peeta said makes sense. That would explain why President Snow hasn't sent Peacekeepers after me yet. He's not planning on hurting my family or me. He just wants to scare me into thinking he will so that Peeta and I will continue to try and convince people that we're in love so that people won't think I'm a rebel. He's bluffing. Of course, if I call his bluff, he'll have no choice but to do something. But as long as I continue to play the lovebird game, everyone I love is safe. A feeling of comfort suddenly washes over me, as though a tremendous weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

Finally, Mayor Undersee, the mayor of District 12, makes his way to the center of the stage. Although he has to participate in the ceremony, I'm sure that he can hardly think about anything other than whether or not Madge's name is going to be called. Lucky for her, she doesn't have to take out tesserae, so her name is only in the glass ball the minimum amount of times. Mayor Undersee welcomes everyone to the reaping before introducing Effie, who seems to have taken on a purple theme since the last time I saw her, as well as Haymitch, Peeta, and I. We all climb up the steps and onto the stage, then have a seat in the five chairs they have set up. After the mayor delivers a brief speech on the Hunger Games, he turns things over to Effie.

The entirely too drawn out ceremony continues as normal, with a film depicting the history of the Hunger Games. Effie mouths the words while everyone else waits in anxious boredom, which is a strange emotion that I've never felt anywhere else. Finally, the awful movie comes to an end. Effie applauds, and then positions herself in front of the microphone once more.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Effie exclaims excitedly. This is usually the part where my heart starts pounding, but I'm still feeling calm from the realization that Peeta gave me earlier. Prim is safe. The Capitol isn't out to get her. "Ladies first!" Effie announces before reaching into the glass ball containing the names of all of the girls aged 12-18 in District 12. "Your female tribute is… Kimberly Westin!"

I meet Prim's eye and we both smile at each other. Kimberly Westin isn't a name that I recognize. Hushed whispers come from the crowd as a scared-looking girl emerges from the 16-year-old section and starts making her way to the stage. She's tall and thin, and fairly pale with long blonde hair. Whoever she is, she definitely isn't from the Seam. Effie summons her to the microphone.

"Tell everyone your name!" says Effie.

"Kim Westin," says the blonde girl. Her hazel eyes are wide as she scanned the crowd. I can't help feeling sorry for the poor girl.

"And how old are you, Kim?"

"16."

"A bit tall for 16, aren't you? Well, go stand over there, and let's see who's going with you." Effie reaches into the other glass ball.

Watching Kim standing there looking so scared takes me back to last year when I was standing in her position. It makes me even more grateful that nobody I love is standing up here on this stage.

"And your male tribute is… Rory Hawthorne!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Okay, calm feeling gone.

Everything is happening in slow motion. Mutters ripple through the crowd. A 14-year-old boy with a stunned expression makes his way to the stage. My mouth hangs open stupidly. A boy I consider my little brother is being placed in front of the microphone. I close my mouth before flies get in. Rory Hawthorne is going to compete in the 75th Hunger Games. And there's nothing I can do about it.

"Alright! Rory Hanson, is it?" asks Effie.

"Hawthorne, actually," Rory replies in a false confident voice.

"And how old are you, Rory?"

"I'm 14."

"Okay! We have our District 12 tributes; Kim Westin and Rory Hawthorne!"

A camera flashes. I blink, trying to assess the situation with my panicking brain. Rory got reaped. I can't volunteer for him like I did for Prim; partly because I'm a victor, and partly because I'm not a boy. I'm sure Gale would volunteer for his brother, but Gale is too old to be a tribute this year. So Rory has to participate. He'll travel to the Capitol, train with the other tributes… while being mentored by a past victor. Maybe there is something I can do to try and help my friend after all. The past minute or two was so crazy that I momentarily forgot that I'm leaving for the Capitol today, too.

"Happy Hunger Games, the third Quarter Quell, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" Effie finishes before ushering Kim and Rory inside where they'll say their final goodbyes to their family and friends.

Peeta moves his hand from my knee to lace his fingers between mine. I don't even remember him putting his hand on my knee in the first place. The crowd is quickly dispersing, most to delight in the fact that they're safe for another year, and some to go say goodbye to someone they may never see again. The rest of us clear the stage to get ready for the train ride. It wasn't long before the Hawthorne family was back outside looking more distressed than I've ever seen them. I give Peeta's hand a light squeeze before letting go to go talk to them.

"Mrs. Hawthorne…" I say before just giving her a hug. What can I possibly say? There are no words that can comfort a mother at this point.

"Look after him, Katniss," Mrs. Hawthorne whispers, her eyes full of tears. She sets off toward the Hawthorne home with the youngest Hawthornes, Vick and Posy. Gale stays behind. We wrap our arms around each other.

"I think he can do it, Katniss," Gale says after a moment. "He's a natural hunter. He can win this."

"I know he can," I say. "He can come home."

"He just needs your support. He's going to need you now more than ever."

"I'd do anything for him."

"I know you would. I'm so glad you're going to be going with him."

"Gale," I say, my voice lowering to a whisper. "We should have left, like you said." I'm suddenly feeling like this is all my fault.

"No, you were right. It's too dangerous. The Capitol would catch up with us sooner or later, and then we'd all be in trouble. At least this way he has a chance. A good chance." I smile, trying to look more confident than I'm feeling.

"I'll do my best, Gale. Start raising sponsor money! Once he's in the arena, there's not much I'll be able to do without money. I'm sure his hunting skills will win him sponsors, but the more money the better." Gale nods.

"Anything for my little brother. Good luck, Katniss." We hug again before Gale needs to go and be with his family in their time of need. He isn't gone for more than a few moments when I feel another pair of arms wrap themselves tightly around my waist.

"Katniss!" exclaims the distraught voice of my little sister. She and my mom must have been in to see Rory after the Hawthornes.

"Don't worry, Prim. I'm a mentor this year. I'll protect him."

"You can do it, I know you can! If anyone can teach somebody how to survive in the arena, it's you!"

"I'll do everything I can, I promise," I say as I stroke her braided head.

"Hurry up! Time to go! We don't want to be late, that won't make a good first impression!" Effie calls as she claps her hands at us.

"I've got to go, Prim. It's going to be alright, you'll see." Prim sulks off to find mom, Peeta takes hold of my hand, and before I know it, I'm on a Capitol-bound train.

Before I have time to do anything else, Peeta pulls me into the mentors' compartment. Because we're supposed to be in love and all, the Capitol decided that we should share our quarters for the duration of the games. This is perfectly fine with me. I always feel safer when I'm sleeping next to Peeta. Considering all the distress this year's Hunger Games has put me through already, I think I'm going to need some comfort to sleep at night.

Peeta pulls me into a hug. And we just stand there. Suddenly I realize that ever since Rory got reaped, I've been trying to comfort everyone but myself. This is the first moment when somebody has had to comfort me. Thinking that comfort like this is unlikely to come from anyone else on the train, I take advantage of this moment and allow all of my emotions to come to the surface. Tears fill my eyes and start flowing down my cheeks, forming a wet spot on Peeta's shoulder. I sob harder and harder until I run out of tears, and even then Peeta continues to hold me.

After a while, I take a few deep breaths and dry my tears. Then Peeta and I sit on the edge of the bed.

"Thanks," I say between sniffles.

"Anytime," Peeta replies with that heartwarming smile of his. "You needed to get your emotions out before facing Rory." My eyes widen in sudden realization. Rory! He must be scared to death.

"I've got to go see him!" I exclaim, suddenly standing up from the bed. Peeta grabs my wrist and gently pulls me back down.

"In a minute. Take some time to calm down first. You just went through a shock and you'll be no help to anybody if you're an emotional wreck." I nod.

"Why did it have to be him, Peeta? A good kid, trying to support his family. They've already lost their father!"

"Sounds familiar to me," Peeta says, resting his hand on my knee and sending me a grin. "I don't think we'll ever understand why good things happen to good people, Katniss. The world is a cruel place, the Capitol sees to that."

"He must be freaking out right now."

"Him and Kim both." I nod. I feel kind of bad, but I've basically been forgetting about Kim. Of course she must be scared to death.

"This is going to be harder than I thought. And I wasn't picturing a particularly easy time."

"I know. But we'll get through it together. Just like last year's games. We've already proven that together, we're stronger than the Capitol." I smile. Stronger than the Capitol. What an amazing thought.

After just a few more minutes in each others' company, Peeta and I decide that it's about time that we graced our fellow passengers with our presence. I take a deep breath before opening the compartment door; breaking the seal to our sanctuary. We barely take a single step out the door when Effie comes rushing up to us.

"There you two are! I didn't want to just barge in in case there was something going on in there that I really don't want to know about, but this is the Hunger Games, not a honeymoon! You're mentors now and that means that we have some things to discuss," Effie blabbers on, caring about nothing but making a good impression in the Capitol as usual.

"We were just talking, Effie," Peeta says quickly.

"I can't imagine what either of you could have to talk about that's more important than these games! I know you two are new at this, but you need to listen to me if we're going to make sure that we don't embarrass ourselves in front of the Capitol!" Effie says as if embarrassing ourselves in front of the Capitol were comparable to catching some horrible disease.

"Well, one of the tributes is actually Katniss' cousin," Peeta replies.

"Oh Katniss, I had no idea…" Effie says. I give her a half-hearted grin. "You must be very proud!" My eyes widen in shock.

"Proud?" I blurt out incredulously.

"It came as quite a shock," Peeta says quickly. We both know full well that there's no way Effie will ever understand what the Hunger Games mean to the districts. She was born and raised in the Capitol, after all. "What was it you wanted to talk to us about?"

"Well, I'm sure you both got a pretty good idea about what a mentor's role is in the Hunger Games last year, but I wanted to discuss it with you properly, particularly because this is your first time," Effie explains. "Come have a seat, then." I sigh. This really isn't what I want to do right now. I can't get the image of Rory being all scared alone out of my head. But I know there's no arguing with Effie. The sooner Peeta and I let Effie say what she wants to say, the sooner I can get to my friend.

"Now, because we finally have more than one living victor, each of you will be mentoring a different tribute. Peeta, you can take Rory, and Katnis, you can take Kim. This will make it easier for-"

"Um, actually, Effie…" I say, cutting Effie off midsentence. "I was hoping that I could mentor Rory." Effie looks at me as if I have 3 heads.

"Well, usually when there is both a male and a female mentor available, the male mentor takes the male tribute and the female mentor takes the female tribute," Effie replies, clearly puzzled.

"But Rory is her cousin," Peeta chimes in.

"I suppose there's no rule preventing it. And it would make for good television, Katniss mentoring her cousin. Alright, fine. Katniss, you take Rory. Peeta, you take Kim," says Effie.

"Thanks, Effie, this means a lot," I say gratefully. It's not that I don't trust Peeta to do a wonderful job as a mentor; it's just that it would make me feel better to be the one helping my dear friend. Besides, how can I concentrate on helping Kim win the Hunger Games when Kim winning means that Rory dies?

"You're welcome, Katniss dear, but it's really no problem. Actually, it's a great idea. It should make us the talk of the Capitol! Not that we weren't already, what with you two both being victors of last year's games and all. Now, as I was saying, a mentor has several different responsibilities throughout the entire game, including…" Effie prattles on. She talks for forever about all things mentor. Finally, she seems to run out of things to say. I waste no time in hurrying off to find Rory while Peeta goes to get to know Kim.

I enter the dining compartment of our train, where Peeta and I had our first serious talk with Haymitch. Like déjà vu, Haymitch is seated at the table with a fork in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Even though he's not mentoring this year, he's still coming along for the ride. This is a pretty common practice among victors. People don't realize how boring life can get when you no longer have to work to support yourself. The Hunger Games, as horrible as they are, give living victors a reason to get out of the house. Although Haymitch is the only one at the table, there are two other plates with food that looks like it was barely touched. It would seem that neither Rory nor Kim have much of an appetite.

"Hey there, Sweetheart!" Haymitch calls over to me.

"Oh, hey, Haymitch. I see you're taking advantage of not having to mentor this year," I say, eyeing the bottle in his hand.

"What, you mean this? I'd be drinking this regardless."

"True. You not mentoring anymore is best for everyone."

"Hey, I did okay with you, didn't I?" I roll my eyes.

"Have you seen Rory?"

"Is that the new boy? He was here a little while ago. Not much of an appetite."

"I'm sure you didn't either when you were on your way to the Capitol 25 years ago."

"I sure did. District 12 kids are skinny enough as it is. None of them have a chance if they don't eat. I'm not a victor for nothing, Sweetheart."

"Yeah, okay fine. Do you know where Rory is now?"

"In his compartment, I believe. You gonna go give him a pep talk?"

"Something like that," I reply as I grab a plate and start piling it high with Capitol delicacies. Haymitch is a crazy drunk, but he has a point. If I'm going to train a champion, I need to start now.

I make my way over to Peeta's old compartment, carrying the plate of food. Suddenly, I realize that I have no idea of what to say. For the umpteenth time, I find myself wishing that I had Peeta's talent with words. Deciding there's nothing to do but go in there and try, I take a deep breath and knock on the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Many thanks to everyone reading this! This is my very first fanfic, so any and all reviews are very much appreciated! If you feel like it. I'm not trying to pressure anyone. Happy reading!

Chapter 7

There's no reply.

"Rory, it's Katniss!" I declare to the train compartment's door. After a moment, the door opens to reveal Rory looking more relieved than he should considering everything that's happened to him today.

"I thought you were Effie!" Rory explains, stepping aside to let me into the room. He obviously has the host thing down way better than I do. I laugh as I walk past him and into the familiar compartment.

"Well in that case, I don't blame you for not coming to the door sooner. I brought you some food."

"Thanks, Katniss, but I'm not really hungry."

"I know. But one of the best things you can do right now is put on as much weight as possible. Trust me, they don't call it the Hunger Games for nothing." I feel like I'm being a bit insensitive by being so blunt about the situation that, only hours ago, changed Rory's whole life. But I have to keep reminding myself that there's no way I can help him by beating around the bush. Rory sighs, takes the plate, and sits down on the bed. I take a seat next to him. "Besides, Capitol food is amazing. There's no way I'm going to let you miss out." Rory takes a bite out of the stack of ham I piled on his plate.

"Woah, that's delicious! The Capitol actually bothers to cater this well to a bunch of kids they're about to slaughter?"

"Just wait until you see where we'll be staying during training. Nobody ever accused the Capitol of making sense." We share a smile over that. "On a more serious note, how are you feeling, Rory?" Rory scratches behind his ear.

"I don't know. Everything happened so fast. I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up, and this will all be just a dream. But I'm not going to wake up, am I?" I place a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes you are. And you're going to keep waking up, every day, and eventually you're going to wake up at home, surrounded by your family."

"Do you really think I can win this, Katniss?" Rory asks after giving me a half-hearted grin.

"Of course you can. If I could do it, you definitely can. You have hunting experience, something the other tributes aren't going to have. You're smart, you know how to take care of yourself… I see no reason why you shouldn't be the one to come out of that arena alive."

"You're amazing, Katniss. And you had Peeta to help you. I'm all alone."

"You have me, Rory. I'm going to help you. We can do this, together. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Rory says without skipping a beat. I knew I always liked that boy.

"We'll get you through this. You've got a lot of people who believe in you."

"So, how does all of this work?"

"I don't want to overload you with too much information now, I'll leave that to Effie. You've had a hard enough day already. For now let's just go over what happens tomorrow."

"Fair enough. Tomorrow is the chariot rides, right?"

"Right, but first you're going to meet your stylist and your prep team. You're going to have Peeta's stylist, Portia. But you'll meet your prep team first. Fair warning, they're going to do a bunch of crazy stuff to you. My prep team removed all the hair from my body except for my eyebrows, eyelashes, and what's on my head. Whatever they want to do to you, let them. To the people of the Capitol, appearance is everything. If you get rich Capitol citizens to like you, they'll sponsor you. That's all I want you to worry about tomorrow; putting on a good show for the Capitol. It's sickening, I know, but sponsor money is very important."

"Relax while getting plucked to death, make the crazy superficial people like me. Got it," Rory says with a grin. I grin back.

"I told you that you were a fast learner! You've got nothing to worry about."

"Well, I'm certainly worrying a lot less now. Thanks, Katniss."

"Don't think me," I say, wrapping an arm around my dear friend. "I'm not about to lose you."

"I'll bet the other tributes from other districts don't have the support that I've got. The future tributes of District 12 are so lucky to have you and Peeta." I swear, this boy can warm your heart like nobody else. He's not going to have any trouble getting sponsors.

"I don't know about that, but we'll certainly do what we can. We know all too well what it's like to try to do this with a crazy mentor. Peeta managed to convince him to sober up and actually help us, and obviously it turned out okay, but it's best that nobody else has to go through that."

"Haymitch certainly isn't sobering up for this trip."

"I don't think he's been sober since." Rory and I share a laugh. "I'll let you try to get some rest. You're going to need it. Sleep as much as you can, but make sure you eat first. I expect that plate to be empty by the time it leaves this room."

"Yes ma'am," Rory says with a salute. I salute back, and then pull him into a hug.

"Goodnight, Rory. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

The next morning, we're all woken up by Effie pounding on our doors. For the record, she still doesn't have a snooze alarm.

"Chop chop! We're going to arrive at the Capitol in just a couple hours!" she exclaims while clapping her long-fingered hands together. I sigh, rub my eyes, and roll out of bed. Beside me, Peeta does the same.

"Good morning, Katniss. How'd you sleep?" Peeta asks.

"Okay, all things considering. What about you?"

"The same. All things considering." I nod. Peeta's job really isn't any easier than mine. He gets to spend the next week getting to know Kim, only to have her possibly be killed. That can't be easy for anybody, regardless of whether or not you knew the person beforehand. Besides, the best reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to you is coming to the Capitol to watch it happen to a whole new group of kids.

Peeta and I change into some of the nice clothing provided by the Capitol and head to the dining compartment where breakfast is served. Effie is already there, of course, and so is Rory. It would appear that my little speech about bulking up actually stuck. I'm so proud.

"Good morning Rory, Effie," I say, taking a seat next to Rory. Peeta sits down on my other side.

"Where's Kim?" he asks like a good mentor should.

"She insisted that she isn't hungry. I told her fine as long as she's ready to go by the time this train reaches the Capitol. I learned last year how difficult it is to work with stubborn tributes," Effie replies.

"Love you too, Effie," I say.

"She needs to eat! I'll go talk to her," Peeta says as he gets up from the table and heads toward my old compartment. Another good reason why I'm not mentoring Kim? I'm not good with stubborn. Peeta's way with words makes him much better to deal with that sort of thing.

"So, did you sleep okay last night, Rory?" I ask once Peeta is gone.

"Had a bit of trouble, to be honest," Rory replies.

"I did too when I was in your shoes," I admit. "Hopefully training will wear you out enough to sleep at night." Effie soon takes over the conversation, going over the day's schedule. I take the opportunity to pile some of that Capitol food onto my plate.

Effie had barely gotten halfway through her spiel when Peeta, looking slightly flustered, returned with Kim right behind him. I smile at her as she sits down. If Rory can't win, which he definitely can, I hope Kim will. That will help Rory's family, and the rest of District 12, the most.

"Hey, Kim! I'm Katniss, the other District 12 mentor," I say.

"I know who you are," Kim says, rolling her eyes. I blink. Of course she knows who I am, I was last year's victor after all. But it's still considered polite to introduce yourself, isn't it?

"Yes, well, now that we all know each other, does anyone mind if I continue?" Effie intervenes. She goes on without waiting for a reply. I meet Peeta's eye and raise a brow. He shrugs.

"She's got your attitude, Katniss," Peeta whispers.

"Ha ha," I whisper back. I wasn't that bad last year, was I?

In almost no time at all, our train comes to a stop.

"Remember, just relax and let your prep team take over. I know they're Capitol citizens, but they're not crazy psycho killers like everyone thinks Capitol citizens are. They're completely harmless. Ignorant and clueless, but really nice. And my stylist was one of the best people I met while I was here last year," I say. Rory chuckles. The sound suddenly reminds me of Gale.

"I'll be fine, Katniss. Don't worry," Rory replies. It suddenly occurs to me that I sound like a mother sending their child off to school for the first time.

"Of course you will. See you when you're a dreamy hunk," I tease as he and Kim are led off to go get ready for tonight.

"Okay, you two. Time to be welcomed to the other side," says Haymitch as he comes up behind Peeta and I. He finally got up about 30 minutes before we got here. Effie didn't bother trying to get him up since he's not a mentor this year. I think she's relieved not to have to deal with him anymore.

"The other side?" Peeta repeats.

"Of course. What did you think you were going to do now? Stand out here all day? It's time to go meet the other victors," Haymitch clarifies. I guess I hadn't really thought about what I was going to do today. I was too busy making sure that Rory knew what he was going to do today. Peeta and I exchange glances, and then follow Haymitch off to some part of the building that I've never been in before.

We enter a big room with a fluffy carpet and lots of overstuffed leather armchairs and couches. One wall is made entirely out of glass, and through it you can look over the city. It really is a breathtaking sight, as Peeta and I discovered last year. Along the opposite wall is a giant buffet. I can smell the food from where I'm standing. Even though I just had a big breakfast, the scent makes my stomach growl. There's a fairly large group of people wandering around that I assume are the living victors of Panem. They're all greeting each other and catching up on everything that's been going on since they last saw each other. It occurs to me that they must be pretty good friends. After all, they do this together year after year.

Haymitch ditches us almost as soon as we get there. Not that I mind, I have no intention of hanging around his alcohol breath all day.

"Hey, Chaff! How's it going?" Haymitch says as he walks toward a tall, dark-skinned man that I assume is Haymitch's friend. Assuming Haymitch has friends.

"Well, let's go mingle, shall we?" Peeta suggests. That's easy for him to say. He's the charismatic one. He walks up to a group of people and starts introducing himself. I look around the room to try and figure out what to do with myself. Suddenly, I spot a man and a woman sitting together on a couch and decide that they seem like the least intimidating people. So, after taking a deep breath, I decide to go over and introduce myself.

"Um, hi. I'm new to the whole victor thing, and thought I'd come introduce myself. I'm Katniss," I say somewhat awkwardly. My social awkwardness doesn't seem to bother either of them, though. They look similar, sharing the same ashen skin and dark hair. The man appears to be a little bit older than the woman.

"Yes, we know who you are! Last year's victor. Well, one of them, anyway. Everyone's impressed with how you two pulled that off. My name's Beetee, and this is Wiress," the man says.

"Hi," Wiress says simply, but with a smile on her face.

"Wiress can be a bit shy, but she's a total genius," Beetee explains.

"It's nice to meet you guys," I say. "Where are you two from?"

"We're both from District 3," Beetee says. "The technology district."

"So, are you guys the District 3 mentors?"

"No, not this year. We're just here to watch and hang out. I'm assuming that you and Peeta are going to mentor for District 12."

"Yeah. Haymitch is thrilled to be rid of the job."

"I think it's better for everyone this way. So, what do you think of the Quarter Quell?"

"I don't really know what to think of it. It seems to have some advantages and some disadvantages. I wonder how it's all going to play out."

"Only time will tell, I suppose."

"Snow time!" Wiress says suddenly. My brow furrows in confusion.

"Can you keep a secret?" Beetee asks. I nod. "Did you see the watch that President Snow was wearing when he made the Quell announcement?" His voice has dropped to a whisper.

"I wasn't really paying much attention," I admit.

"I wasn't either, to be honest, it was Wiress that pointed it out to me, actually. You know how most clocks have the numbers from 1 to 12?" I nod again. "Well his has the numbers from 1 to 13. I don't know what that thing does, but I don't think it tells time."

I have no idea what a watch like that could be used for either. But I do know one thing. Betee and Wiress are useful people to have as allies during my stay at the Capitol. They seem to trust me, at least. We sit there talking about a variety of interesting subjects until it's time for me to go meet up with Cinna and see how Rory is holding up..


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Have I mentioned the Capitol's food? Well, it's amazing. So are their fancy living quarters, beautiful nighttime view from the rooftops… I can go on forever. But I have to say, the best thing about being back here at the Capitol is Cinna. He's different than most of the Capitol's citizens. For example, he isn't entertained by watching a bunch of kids slaughter each other.

"Katniss! Peeta!" Cinna calls over to us as we approach. I greet him with a hug, then he and Peeta clap each other on the back the way boys do for some unknown reason. "I think you guys are going to like the designs that Portia and I came up with. The District 12 chariot is over here."

As we follow Cinna over to where our mentees wait, I wonder how he could possibly top last years' designs. After all, Peeta and I were on fire. However, as Rory and Kim come into view, I see that Cinna's brilliance has done it again.

Kim is wearing a fitted dress that falls about 5 or 6 inches above the knee. It appears to be made of a sparkling lace of various shades of gray. Her hair is pulled up in some sort of fancy up-do with a clump of black, white, and gray feathers on one side. She has heavy gray eye shadow with a silvery shade of lipstick. Standing beside her, Rory is in a fancy gray suite with a black shirt underneath and a silver tie. On his head is a gray, black-trimmed hat that Portia, who is making last-minute adjustments on Rory and Kim's outfits, is quick to inform me is called a fedora.

"They're making a comeback in the Capitol," Portia explains. "We figured it would catch the sponsors' attention."

I look at District 12's newest tributes and realize that this year, they will be portraying smoke.

"You both look great," Peeta says honestly.

"They do, don't they?" Cinna teases. "But that's not all. Check this out." He directs our attention to the back of the chariot where some sort of electronic device has been attached. "It's a smoke machine," he says in response to the confused looks on Peeta and I's faces. "We'll turn it on when the ceremony begins, and smoke will billow out behind the chariot."

"Wow," I comment, impressed. "That's our Cinna. Fashion designer and special effects coordinator extraordinaire." Cinna laughs.

"To stick out to a group of people with neon-colored hair and gold face tattoos, you have to think outside of the box," he points out. "I'll let you two talk to your mentees."

"I'm going to see if I can convince Kim to look like she doesn't actually hate everyone in this city," Peeta whispers,

"Good luck," I whisper back. We share a smile before Peeta goes off to attempt to shape Kim's silver lips into less of a scowl, and I go to see what kind of thoughts are lurking beneath Rory's menorah, or whatever it's called.

Rory is mindlessly fiddling with his tie, presumably having no idea of what to do with himself.

"How're you holding up?" I ask. Rory shrugs.

"Nervous, I guess."

"Don't worry, Cinna and Portia did a great job on you guys. All you have to do is stand in the chariot and look… smokey."

"I'll get right on that," Rory teases, finally cracking a smile. I respond with a smile of my own.

"I'm sure this conversation is going to go down in history as one of the best mentor moments of all time."

"It's definitely one of the best I've ever seen."

"Not THE best?"

Suddenly, Cinna appears at my shoulder.

"Places, everyone!" he exclaims, interrupting my role model moment.

"You're gonna be fine!" I call after Rory as he and Kim climb into the chariot. Cinna and Portia rush forward to adjust and position them.

"You don't want to smile, exactly," Cinna is saying. "Just look confident. Stare down the crowd."

"And try not to breathe in the smoke," Portia adds. "A coughing fit will ruin the effect."

"Good luck!" Peeta says before the two of us go to claim our seats.

I've been in this gorgeous Capitol courtyard before, of course, but somehow it seams different now that I'm looking at it from a spectator's point of view. Probably because I'm not worried that I'll die if I don't get the people around me to like me.

"I think I'm making an impression on Kim," Peeta says once the two of us are settled in.

"Oh, really?" I reply, momentarily surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, I haven't gotten a smile out of her or anything, but her scowl is definitely shallower than it was."

"Impressive. Maybe next you can teach her to treat people with mild annoyance instead of utter hatred." Peeta and I share a smile.

"In all seriousness though, Katniss, I'm worried about her. How am I supposed to help her if she won't cooperate with me?" The thought suddenly occurs to me that I've been so concerned with Rory that, once again, I've forgotten how Peeta must be feeling. Of course he should be nervous with a mentee like Kim. Granted, nobody can blame her for being angry at the world considering the horrible card it's just dealt her. But how does she expect to deal with this if she doesn't let anyone help her?

"If anyone can help her, it's you. I don't know how you do it, but you always think of something."

"I don't know, Katniss. Eventually I'm going to run out of ideas."

"It's still early, right? There's still time for you to make an impression on her. You never know what might happen."

"I know. That's what makes this whole thing so scary."

I don't have time to reply as Caesar Flickerman, the host of the Hunger Games, takes his position behind the microphone. His lips and eyelids are dyed lavender this year, in true Capitol fashion.

"Welcome, one and all, to the opening ceremony of the 75th Hunger Games!" Flickerman's voice booms over the crowd. The Capitol spectators cheer. "This, of course, will be a very special version of the games, as it is the third Quarter Quell. Just a quick reminder, as if anyone could forget, this year tributes will each be given a specific target to hunt down instead of the traditional free for all. More details on how this will work will be released within the next few days, but in the meantime, let's see what our amazing designers have come up with this year!"

The crowd roars as the first chariot comes into view. District 1's tributes are both wearing outfits that are completely covered in different colored gems. I have to admit that the effect is quite dazzling, as well as blinding. The crowd seems to like it, anyway. The District 3 tributes have strings of little green and blue light bulbs wrapped down their skin-tight black suits with matching headpieces that encircled their whole heads. District 8's tributes are wearing complex outfits that appear to be hand-knitted and have hats that look like spools of thread. They look ridiculous if you ask me, but no one ever does.

Finally, the 12th and final chariot comes into view. Rory and Kim looked great before, but now they're stunning. The way the light hits the sparkles on Kim's dress creates a brilliant illusion of movement. Rory looks like a male model. And, of course, the smoke machine pulls the whole thing together. The finale of the caravan trailed puffs of smoke behind it, almost making it seem like the District 12 tributes are smoldering. The two of them stare out at the crowd as they fly by, the look on their faces surprisingly intimidating. It's a strange look for Rory, who has always been a genuinely nice guy to everyone he's met.

"They look amazing!" Peeta yells over the awed cheers of the Capitol.

"Let the sponsors roll in!" I call back.

Hugs are exchanged as the District 12 gang reunites inside the Training Center where the horses and chariots come to a stop.

"You guys were amazing!"

"That was perfect!"

"Did you hear the crowd? They loved you!"

"Thanks, guys," Rory says modestly.

"Capitol pigs," Kim mutters.

"They're horrible, ignorant people," Peeta says quickly. Clearly he's doing whatever he can to get on Kim's good side. "I know it sucks having to put up with it, but sponsor money is very important."

"So I've heard," Kim says, rolling her eyes before following the crowd of people to the elevators that take the tributes, their escorts, and their mentors up to their fancy apartments. I flash a smile at her until she's walked past me before raising an eyebrow in Rory's direction. He just shrugged in response. Poor Peeta is left looking slightly defeated. Effie checks her thick eye makeup in a mirror that, apparently, she carries around in her pocket.

About 15 minutes later, we've all arrived up on the 12th floor. In similar fashion to the train ride, Peeta and I will be in Haymitch's old room, Rory will be in Peeta's old room, and Kim will be in my old room. I don't know where Haymitch will sleep. Probably either in a hotel or in the middle of the street, depending on how drunk he is this evening.

The five of us eat dinner together at the table, some of us more than others. I'm horrified to see that the avox girl I recognized from that one day hunting in the woods is still here, serving the District 12 tributes and their crew. I try not to think about it as I pretend to listen to Effie who is currently prattling on about the Opening Ceremony. But that's the problem with this whole thing. Every aspect of this yearly ritual is just so messed up.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning, I find myself at the same table where you left me. Every square inch of its mahogany surface is covered in plates, cups, silverware, and food, and the whole District 12 gang in seated around its perimeter. Both Rory and Kim are in their training uniforms, but Cinna and Portia had decided not to match them this year. That made sense. It's clear that we won't be able to make the same strategy work twice, particularly twice in a row with the same district, and particularly with the way this Quarter Quell is set up. This means that we're going to have to come up with some alternative strategy.

After a sizable breakfast of Capitol food with an Effie-themed background track, I make my mentor move and score some privacy with Rory before it's time to head down to training. I'm confident enough as the two of us head into his temporary living quarters and close the door, feeling as though I've really got the hang of this whole mentor thing until we take a seat on the foot of his bed. And then I realize that I didn't really think about what I'm going to say. This means that I'm going to have to wing it. Luckily, I'm quite talented in the art of playing things off as if they're part of the plan.

"You okay, Katniss?" Rory asks as my talents fail me.

"Yeah," I reply quickly. "Um… Is there anything you have questions about?"

"Well, I guess just, what happens at these things?" He seems to ask this in order to prompt me and help me out rather than out of actual curiosity. But it does seem like a fairly important thing to touch on.

"Basically, there are different stations where people will teach you how to use different weapons or perfect certain survival skills. You just go around to these each day and learn what you can. Then, on the last day, you get a chance to show the game makers what you can do. That's how you get your training score, you know all about that." Training scores are awarded to each tribute and really only serve to win them sponsors. They range from 1 to 12, 1 being the lowest and 12 being the highest.

Rory nods. "Any advice on which stations I should make sure I visit?"

"No specific stations, just try to pick things you've never really done before. Take this opportunity to learn a new skill, because the more skills you have, the better you will be able to adapt to any situation you encounter while inside the arena. Try to keep your talents hidden for now, so you can catch the other tributes off guard." This was the advice that Haymitch had given me, and it had made sense. At this point, I start to worry that I seem to be modeling my mentor advice off of the crazy drunk person from District 12. But then I realize that maybe that means his advice was really more helpful than I had thought at first.

"Okay, seems easy enough," Rory replies.

"Yeah, training is pretty straight-forward. And try not to get too intimidated by the other tributes. They all like to show off, I guess as some scare tactic, but they're never so tough in the arena where weapons are harder to come by and they have to rely on their own survival skills to stay alive."

Rory and I hug and, a few short minutes later, he and Kim are on their way downstairs. Peeta and I wish them luck as the elevator doors shut between us.

"We'd better get a move on, too. The meeting starts in 20 minutes!" Effie exclaims from behind us, having apparently changed into a bright green outfit that appeared to be made entirely out of spandex.

"Meeting?" I echo.

"Oh, honestly! Were either of you paying attention at breakfast? The meeting for the mentors and escorts, of course! They're going to go over the details for the Quarter Quell. I personally can't wait to find out how all of this is going to work; it's practically all anyone's been talking about since the announcement!"

Peeta and I exchange glances as Effie steps through us and pushes the button to call the elevator back up to our floor.

The meeting takes place in a gorgeous auditorium with a high ceiling, comfortable chairs, and a raised stage. Just a few minutes after we took our seats, a woman with electric blue hair and matching eye shadow steps up to a microphone.

"Welcome, mentors and escorts, to the 75th annual Hunger Games!" the woman exclaimed in a high, squeaky voice. There were a few cheers, presumably from the escorts, and a bit of half-hearted claps from a few of the mentors.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Lidel LaFleur and I will be delivering announcements to you all throughout the games!" the woman, now identified as Lidel, continues. "I'm sure you're all very eager to find out how this year's Quarter Quell is going to work! The Capitol has been working very hard to put this special system into place. Your tributes are hearing all about it in the training room as we speak, so let's get started! Some of this information will be review, and some of it will be new to you.

"As you know, each tribute will only be able to kill one other tribute at a time. Who this tribute is will be selected randomly. When one tribute kills another, they will be assigned the target of the dead tribute. If a tribute ends up with themselves as a target, some or all of the targets will be reassigned randomly. Before the games begin, each tribute will have a wristband locked onto their left wrist. This wristband will allow the tribute to keep track of which tribute they are currently targeting, but will not tell them who is targeting them. The wristband will also prevent anyone from killing a tribute that is not currently his or her target. Using the latest in Capitol technology, the wristband can sense an attack of any kind from somebody who is not currently targeting the tribute and block it with a force field that will last for several seconds after the attack. It will not, however, prevent tributes from dying from non-human causes. Well, I think that just about covers everything. If anybody has any questions, they should feel free to ask me. It should make for a very interesting Hunger Games! Good luck to all of your tributes!" And with that, Lidel exited the stage.

I sigh as people around us begin to get up and walk out, muttering to each other about all of the information that just got thrown at us. This certainly makes things a bit more difficult. If Rory is going to win, he's going to need a completely new strategy that nobody has ever used before. The only problem is that I don't think I'm really the best person to be coming up with this strategy.

"What do we do now, Effie?" Peeta asks from beside me.

"Well, I don't know what you're going to do, but my yoga class starts in 30 minutes! I should be back by the time our tributes return from training. Tah tah!" Effie exclaims as she follows the small crowd of people out the door. I guess that explains the spandex.

"Most of us are going to the Victors' Lounge," one of the mentors (from District 9?) said as he walked up behind us.

Peeta turns to me. "Want to go to the Victors' Lounge?"

I shrug. "Why not?" Frankly, it's got to be better than heading back upstairs. As nice as the District 12 floor is, it carries too many terrible memories from last year.

The Victors' Lounge is pretty much the same as it was the last time I was here. It still had the fluffy chairs and couches, the food, and past victors chatting in small groups.

"We should see if any of the non-mentors will give us some advice," Peeta suggests.

"You won't be getting any more advice out of me!" a drunken Haymitch declares as he passes by, a glass bottle in his hand.

"Hey, Haymitch," Peeta and I mutter absentmindedly.

"Yeah, okay," I say in response to Peeta's suggestion. "I'll go over here."

"Okay, I'll go talk to Radford. I met him here yesterday, he seems to know just about everything there is to know about the games."

I wait for Peeta to leave before heading straight for Beetee and Wiress, who are sitting in the same place they were when I first met them.

"Hey, guys," I say as I sit down.

"Hey, Katniss!" Beetee exclaims. Wiress smiles warmly.

"Have you guys heard the latest on the Quarter Quell?"

"We've overheard small parts of other peoples' conversations about it."

I take the liberty of filling them in on everything that happened at the meeting.

"Wow, those are some high-tech wristbands," Beetee comments. Wiress nods in agreement.

"I know, it looks like all of the tributes will have their work cut out for them this year. What's going on with you guys?" I ask, trying my hardest to be social.

"Oh, we've just been hanging out around the Capitol," Beetee replies. "We did go down to the training center last night, though, just to have a look around."

I shudder slightly. There are bad memories there, too. "You guys are brave, I'm never going there again if I can help it."

"That was my thinking too after I won my games. But coming here year after year, not mentoring… Everything kind of brings back bad memories. Eventually, you'll sum up the courage to face them. Anyway, we were just curious to see if it had changed much since we were last in there. It hadn't much, the only real change is the force field."

"Force field?" I ask.

"Yeah, there's a force field in front of the place where the game makers sit. I wonder why they put that there?"

I grin, instantly putting 2 and 2 together. "That would be my doing," I say. I proceed to tell Beetee and Wiress about how I shot an apple last year while I was supposed to be getting evaluated for my training score.

They both laughed. "So that's how you got your 11," Beetee said, referring to my score.

"Yeah, I guess I really left an impression," I say with a bit of a chuckle at the memory of the game makers' faces. Suddenly, a question comes to mind that I probably should have thought about several minutes ago. "Wait, how do you know they put up a force field? Aren't they supposed to be invisible?"

"They are invisible… mostly," Beetee replies. "What most people don't know is that force fields aren't perfect. They all have a weak spot on them. It's not very big, but it's there. And you can tell where it is because it makes the air look fuzzy, almost as if it's a fogged-up window."

"Huh. I never knew that."

"Yeah, they try not to make that information too public, and people tend not to notice if they didn't know about them already."

"So, I can still shoot an arrow at the game makers?" I tease.

"If you aim in the right place," Beetee replies with a grin.

Once again, my new friends have supplied me with some very useful information. My brain shifts into mentor mode as our conversation continues. I think I may have actually come up with a plan to help Rory, and give him the advantage. Team Kory (Ratniss?) now has a game strategy. Operation bring the Hawthorne home is now in effect.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When it's almost time for the first day of training to be over, I meet back up with Peeta so we can return to our floor before Rory and Kim get back.

"I was able to gather a few tips from some people," Peeta is saying, quietly, so nobody else will hear. "Mostly people just said to make sure our tributes don't trust anyone, alliances won't work out with this system. It's got to be every man, or woman, for themselves. Which, of course, seems a little obvious, but it's probably a good idea to remind Kim and Rory of this. Were you able to gather anything useful?"

"Well I was talking to Beetee and Wiress and-"

"Wait, man and a woman? From District 3?"

"Um, yeah."

"People say they're crazy, Katniss. You can't really blame anyone for going crazy, considering what we've all been put through. But it's probably not a very good idea to take any advice from them."

I'm slightly offended by what Peeta is saying about my new friends. Sure, they're a bit different, but they have a lot of useful things to say. Well, if that's the way Peeta's going to be, maybe I'll just keep my crazy new friends to myself. "Yeah, okay. They're really nice, though," I say, feeling the need to say something in their defense.

"I'm sure they're extremely nice. Great company. You'll have to make sure to introduce me properly." Maybe Peeta can tell I'm a bit annoyed by what he said (he reads people extremely well). I can tell he's trying hard not to start a fight. Or maybe he's on edge like this all the time now, because he's trying so hard to get Kim to like him. Either way, I'll take it. What girl wouldn't want a man who's ready and willing to agree with them all the time?

Effie, Peeta, and I are sitting in the living room area when Rory and Kim get back from training. They seem pretty tired, but in one piece.

"Well, how did it go?" Effie asks eagerly. Rory collapses into a chair and Kim helps herself to a glass of water.

"Let them rest for a moment, Effie. They've had a long day," Peeta says sympathetically.

"Oh, please," Kim says as she joins us in the plush seating area. I jump slightly at the sound of her voice. Being Katniss Everdeen, jumpiness isn't a helpful trait, nor is it one I'm typically prone to. But that girl hardly ever says anything. "We won't exactly have the luxury of relaxing whenever we want in the arena. If we're too tired to have a conversation after training, how will we ever survive?"

"An excellent point," Peeta agrees. "Nobody gets anywhere in the Hunger Games if they don't have the energy to handle it. Why don't you tell us how training went, Kim?" I expect her to opt out of the conversation. She surprises me again.

"Sickening," Kim mutters. "They can't possibly expect anyone to master a whole new skill in a few days. All they want is to make us overconfident, to think that we can do something because some so-called professional gave us a 30-minute tutorial. Then we all attempt to use these new skills in the arena, fail miserably, and everyone in the Capitol gets to laugh at how uncoordinated we are."

"I don't know," I cut in. "Some experience is better than none at all. If you use your time the right way, you can increase your chances of survival." Peeta shoots me a look. I'd forgotten to always agree with his mentee.

"Says the girl whose primary weapon during the games was a bow, the thing she already knew how to use before she ever came to the Capitol. Or was all that hunting you did simply wandering around the woods, looking for animals that were already dead?" Kim shoots back defensively.

I briefly glance at Peeta, hoping he'll take that moment of eye contact as an apology. "Um, you're probably right about the Capitol. That definitely seems like something they'd do," I say awkwardly.

Effie looks at us disapprovingly. "Need I remind you girls of everything the Capitol does for Panem? Here you are, sitting in the extremely nice living quarters that the Capitol has provided for you, and all you can do is complain. Now I don't want to argue, but I think we all need to remind ourselves from time to time to think about what we're saying before we say it."

Kim looks as though she's going to explode all over Effie. I quickly interject, "Sorry, Effie! We don't want to fight either." I raise an eyebrow at Kim, praying that she understands how pointless it is to argue with our escort over Capitol matters.

"Whatever," Kim grumbles before abruptly getting up and heading straight for her room.

Effie starts to say something in response to what I'm sure she considered to be very rude behavior when Peeta steps in to continue the conversation before she gets a chance. "I'm sure it's been a very stressful day for both of you. What did you think about training, Rory?"

Rory, as always, is ready and willing to help people out. "I think it went pretty well," he replies. "I learned a lot about how to tell whether or not a plant is edible, and got some pointers on knife-throwing technique."

"Both useful skills," I say, beaming at my mentee. He smiles back at me, reminding me so much of Gale in the process. I know the whole Hawthorne family is worried sick. I try not to think about them too much and just focus on Rory. To think about all of the people besides me who would be crushed at the event of his death is way too much pressure to bear.

"They told us more about how the Quarter Quell is going to work in the beginning. Like, how they're going to make it work and stuff," Rory continued.

"Yeah, we had a meeting about that this morning," Peeta says.

"The wonders of Capitol technology! It's like they can do anything these days," Effie exclaims. Silence hangs over Effie's words for a few seconds as the three of us nod halfheartedly.

"Well, I'm glad training went well, Rory, but I should probably go check on Kim," Peeta says finally.

"Good luck," I whisper as he gets up off the couch. He smiles back at me before heading down the hall to my old bedroom. "We should talk about the Quarter Quell now that we know more about what's going on," I suggest to Rory.

Rory nods and the two of us head off in the direction of his bedroom.

"I'll call you all when it's time for dinner!" Effie announces.

I don't waste any time in explaining my plan to Rory once we're, once again, seated on the end of his bed. "Rory, I think I've figured out our strategy!"

"You seem like your old self, Katniss," Rory said with a grin. "It must be a good one."

"I met these two people from District 3, and they taught me something about force fields. Apparently, they all have a small weak spot in them. You can tell which spot is the weak one because the air there will look all fuzzy. They put up a force field in front of where the game makers sit in the training room, so look for the weak bit tomorrow so that you know what it looks like."

"Wait, how do you know there's one in the training room if you didn't know about the weak spot until now?"

"The people from District 3 told me. They got bored or something and went exploring."

"Okay, I'll keep my eyes open for it, then. But what's that got to do with the games? You don't think I should try to escape the arena do you?"

I shake my head. "You'd be on the run from the Capitol for the rest of your life. Besides, the game makers would never let you get close enough to the force fields to try."

"Okay, then what?"

I grin. "To attack the other tributes, ones that aren't your target."

"But we can't do that, Katniss. They'll be protected by a… force field," Rory says, finally catching on.

"Exactly! You'll have to launch two attacks; one to bring up the force field, and one aimed at the weak spot to penetrate it. But you'll have to be quick, though. The force field will only stay up for a few seconds, so you'll only have that long to locate the weak spot, aim, and attack. Depending on where the weak spot is, you may or may not be able to kill the tribute. Still, you can wound them, which will slow them down if they're trying to kill you. Badly wounded people don't last long in the games, anyway."

"Wow, Katniss, you're a genius."

"I have my moments."

"Well, great. Now all I have to do is… kill people."

My smile fades then. That was probably the most pessimistic thing that Rory had said since his name was pulled out of the giant glass bowl during the reaping. But who could blame him? A sweet kid like Rory having a conversation with me in which we plot out his murder strategy… I don't know what to say to him, so I just pull him into a tight hug. He squeezes me back, and we stay like that until Effie calls us for dinner.

I stand in the living area, admiring the fancy Capitol-style purple suit that Portia put Rory in. The rest of training went well for him. He learned some new skills, and located the weak spot on the force field. Kim, who is now wearing the bright-green gown that Cinna designed for her, continued to complain about it, but Peeta was just pleased that she had actually started to open up. Both of District 12's tributes had gotten pretty high training scores (Kim with an 8 and Rory with a 9), which would do nicely when trying to gain sponsors. Now the only thing left to do before they enter the arena is tonight's interviews, which Rory and I had discussed earlier.

("Tonight's the big night!" I said, trying not to sound nervous.

"This whole thing went by so fast," Rory replied. "Any words of wisdom for the interview?"

"Well this may come as a shock, but public speaking really isn't my area of expertise." Rory grins at me. "But I do remember Haymitch telling me that his strategy was always to master some sort of personality that will catch the Capitol's attention, and go with that. Unfortunately, I was really bad at all of the personalities I tried on."

"I like you just the way you are, Katniss. But how do you think I should act for the interview?"

I beamed at Rory as he managed to melt my heart for the umpteenth time. "There. Just be yourself. Everybody loves you, Rory. Just make sure you relax, don't be nervous. Caesar Flickerman is really good at this, he'll help you out a lot.")

"Remember, be tough, even a little scary if you want, that's fine. But please don't insult the Capitol, you really do need to gain some fans there. I know you hate them, but they could be the difference between life and death for you," Peeta is pleading to Kim. He's been a nervous wreck all day, or at least he has been whenever I've seen him. Mostly he spent his time coaching Kim, or trying to. I haven't had much of an opportunity to ask him how that's been going.

"Yeah, so I've heard. I don't have a death wish or anything!" Kim replies, rolling her eyes. Peeta seems relieved and a lot less annoyed than most people who have just had eyes rolled at them.

"You look really pretty, Kim. You'll definitely catch the right peoples' attention," says teen-heartthrob Rory Hawthorne.

"Thanks," Kim says simply, not looking at Rory but not rolling her eyes at him either.

I gape at Rory. That was easily the friendliest thing I'd ever seen Kim do. Rory just shrugged.

Mere seconds later, Effie comes to direct us all toward the elevator.

"Rory's a wizard," Peeta whispers to me as we follow the group through the open doors.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"She'll do fine," I say to Peeta as we take our seats in the audience among the crowds of Capitol citizens. He still seems nervous, despite Kim's reassurance (if you can call it that).

Peeta smiles at me. "I hope so, Katniss. Rory will do great."

"Yeah, I had it easy. Everyone loves Rory."

"People love Kim, too."

I'm slightly taken aback by Peeta's comment. "Of course, I'm sure. She has a family, after all."

"Yes, but that's not what I mean. She was pretty popular back in school, Katniss."

This takes me by surprise. I guess I hadn't really thought much about what Kim's life in District 12 was like. It's hard for me to picture her as anything but this angry, mad-at-her-stars girl that is the only version of Kim I've ever known. I've never paid much attention to social life in school, especially the social life of people who aren't in my year, or aren't from the Seam.

"She and I have talked about it a little," Peeta continues. "I kind of remember seeing her around, but it's like she's a completely different person now."

I don't know what to say, so I just squeeze Peeta's hand. I can't stop trying to picture Kim chatting and laughing with a group of girls, but for some reason the picture won't form.

A minute or two later, a loud, disembodied voice announces the arrival of the host of the Hunger Games, Caesar Flickerman. He's dressed in a familiar blue suit with matching hair. The crowd cheers as he takes the stage and greets his audience with a low bow and lots of waving before taking a seat. A curtain is lifted to reveal the 24 tributes, all sitting in their own chairs behind him. My eyes flicker to Rory, who seems to be hiding his nerves well.

"She's _smiling_!" Peeta exclaims.

My head whips over in Kim's direction faster than if would have if Peeta had just suggested that she had turned into a stalk of celery. To my complete and utter shock, my boy with the bread spoke the truth. "No way!" I blurt out, unable to come up with a more intricate sentence.

Peeta and I are both still gaping at Kim when Flickerman calls up the tribute for the first interview; the girl from District 1. The District 12 tributes will go last, as usual. I don't pay much attention to the interviews, as they were all more or less the same kind of things that happen every year. Flickerman is able to keep them interesting with his amazing social skills, but I find myself too nervous for Rory to really focus on anything else. I know he'll do fine, but still. This is important.

Finally, the boy from District 11 returns to his seat, and it's Kim's turn to join Flickerman downstage.

"Welcome, Kim! It's great to have you here tonight," Caesar Flickerman begins.

"Thanks, Caesar, it's wonderful to see you!" Kim replies cheerfully. Peeta and I lose the use of our jaw muscles.

"Thank you, I'm sure everyone is excited to see you as well!" Kim waves, and the crowd cheers in response. "So Kim, what do you think of the Capitol? It's quite a bit different from District 12, I hear!"

"A lot different, yes," Kim agrees. "In fact, I was just thinking earlier about how much more open it is here!"

"It's quite a big city! Were you surprised by the size of it all?"

"I suppose I was, but that's not what I meant."

"Oh, well, by all means, please explain."

"It's open. Free, you know? Not built like a prison like the districts, with electric fences surrounding them." Peeta's eyes meet mine as we realize with a sudden horror what Kim is doing.

"Kim, please, no," Peeta pleads under his breath. I hook my arm around Peeta's and lean forward in my seat, trying hard to remember to breathe.

"Well, it's for the protection of the districts, of course," Flickerman replies.

Kim's pleasant, even genuine-looking smile never fades from her face. "Of course. And that's another thing about this city; it's safe. I mean, it must be if it doesn't need protection like the districts, right?"

"Well-"

"And all of the food and technology you all have here! The districts are where all of it comes from, and yet not a single district can even begin to compare!"

"Right, well…"

"It's so strange to think, Caesar. Given the fact that the rebellion was 75 years ago now, for almost everyone alive in Panem right now, the difference between life in the Capitol and a life heavily affected by the Hunger Games is simply a matter of being born into the wrong family."

"Yes, I… I suppose…"

"Cat got your tongue, Caesar?" Kim asks with an actual giggle.

Peeta and I have begun to drool. Never once before now have I ever seen Caesar Flickerman go speechless.

Flickerman laughs nervously. "I certainly hope not! When my cat gets ahold of things, I never see them again!"

The crowd, which had gone silent, laughed at that a bit longer than they should have, presumably just glad to hear an aspect of the interviews that they recognized.

"Well unfortunately, Kim, our time is up. Ladies and gentlemen, Kim Westin!"

Kim stands up, curtsies, and returns to her chair at the back of the stage. Rory beams at her. The crowd breaks into an awkward applause. It's clear that most people have no idea what just happened. Peeta and I cheer, our subtle way of saying 'you go girl'. Why fight Kim's spirit? It's something everyone living in the districts can relate to.

"And now, please welcome the last, but certainly not least, tribute for the night, Mr. Rory Hawthorne!"

The crowd cheers as Rory makes his way to where Kim had been just moments before. Flickerman seems relieved to able to move on.

"How are you doing this evening, Rory?" Flickerman asks.

"You know, I'm actually doing pretty well, Caesar," Rory replies. He's clearly as amused by Kim's performance as Peeta and I are.

"I'm certainly glad to hear it! So, I hear District 12 has decided to switch things up a bit this year! What with you being mentored by the female mentor, and Kim being mentored by the male mentor."

"Right, well we had a bit of a special circumstance."

"So I've heard! Katniss Everdeen is your cousin, is she not?"

"Yeah, she and I thought we'd both feel better if she was the one to mentor me."

"We've got a bit of a family effort going this year! How has that been working out?"

"Things seem to be going pretty well! Katniss knows what she's doing, of course. And I think it helps a bit that we already knew each other and had a strong connection even before any of this happened. We've been pretty in sync with each other."

"It sounds like things are so far so good, then! Though it must be hard for Katniss. A lot of pressure is put on the mentors under normal circumstances, but you're family. Does any of that add to your worries about the games?"

"I'm not going to lie, Caesar. It does a bit. That and thinking of my family back home. We're barely able to scrape by. I'll be old enough to work in the mines in a few years, and we really need the extra income, especially after my father's death."

"It sounds like there's a lot of pressure all around. Well, Rory, I wish you the best of luck, and hope for your family. But I'm afraid that's all the time we have for tonight. Rory Hawthorne, ladies and gentlemen!"

The crowd cheers. Rory waves and returns to his seat beside Kim.

"That concludes the interviews for the 75th Hunger Games! Let's hear it for our tributes!" The crowd roars excitedly around me. "Happy Hunger Games to all, and may the odds be ever in your favor! Goodnight, everybody!" And with that, Caesar Flickerman waves to the audience and exits the stage. The curtain falls on the 24 tributes.

Back on the 12th floor, Peeta and I are reunited with Effie, Kim, and Rory.

"Way to go, guys!" Peeta exclaims. Both Rory and Kim are still smiling. I have to say; smiling suits Kim.

"That was awesome!" I agree.

"Yes, excellent job, Rory. Yours and Katniss' family effort certainly sparks interest with the sponsors. And Kim… For some reason, I'm not really sure what was going on with your interview. Oddly enough I think you've left a lot of people rather confused, but you definitely attracted attention, which is good!" Effie says.

"That's the idea," Kim says cheerfully.

"I thought it was brilliant!" Rory exclaims.

We all try to go to bed early. After all, tomorrow is the official start of this year's games. We'll all need our energy, Rory and Kim especially. However, much like my final night in the Capitol before the 74th Hunger Games, I find myself unable to sleep at all.

After an hour or two of lying awake in bed, I give up any remaining hope of being rested in the morning. Quietly as I can, trying not to disturb Peeta in the process, I roll out of bed and tiptoe my way out the door and up to the roof. Roof access is one major advantage to living on the top floor. The view is so pretty from up there, and the fresh air is a great way to clear your head.

Momentarily, I'm surprised to find Kim already up here. However, the surprise is pretty short-lived.

"Can't sleep?" I ask as I join her near the edge of the roof, looking down upon the city.

Kim shakes her head. "Too nervous, I guess," she replies.

"So was I. I came up here my last night, too."

"Sometimes I forget. That you and Peeta were in the same situation last year. That you understand how it feels. It's just so easy to be angry at everyone involved in this stupid thing."

"I know, believe me, I've been there. And I had Haymitch as a mentor, it's easy to get mad at him, too."

"But you and Peeta have just been trying to help me. You're the only ones on my side."

"It may seem like that now, but you've got most of Panem on your side. So many people have been affected by these games. And most of the Capitol is so clueless. That was some interview earlier, by the way."

Kim grins. "Thanks. I just figured, I'm most likely going to die soon, anyway." I'm about to say something, but Kim stops me. Technically, given the odds, she's right, and probably doesn't want to listen to false reassurance at this point. "So before I die, I thought I'd take the opportunity to speak out against the Capitol a bit."

"Well, from the sound of things, it looks like you've confused a lot of people. Called into question things that Capitol citizens have been taught all their lives in a subtle way that most of them haven't even realized yet. Maybe some of them will think it over, and figure it out. Maybe you've implanted some actual thoughts into the minds of people who have been mindlessly following their government for years."

"Maybe. I'd like to see somebody stand up to the government. You could probably do it. You and Peeta. Rory too. Make sure he wins, Katniss. You guys could change Panem."

"Don't count yourself out yet. You've certainly got the spirit to change Panem. Kimberly Westin, the one person in all of history to leave Caesar Flickerman speechless!"

Kim and I share a laugh (is a sentence I never thought I'd say). Just then, the door opens and Peeta and Rory join us with a tray of steaming mugs.

"Who were we kidding?" Peeta asks. "None of us ever had any chance of falling asleep tonight. Hot chocolate?"

The four of us stand together in the refreshing night air, sipping hot chocolate and gazing out at the city until we're too tired to keep our eyes open.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Now I know how it feels.

Before today, I knew how it felt to be a tribute, to leave your family and friends behind with the knowledge that I may never see them again, and that I will probably soon be dead. I even knew how it felt to hear the name of a loved one called at the reaping. But it wasn't until today that I discovered what it feels like to say goodbye to that loved one for what could possibly be the final time.

I wake up on the morning of Rory and Kim's final day in the Capitol, and immediately slip into the shoes of my mother, Prim, Gale, the rest of the Hawthornes, Kim's friends and family and so many others. I don't know if it's better or worse that I had a few days to prepare for this.

As if he's reading my mind, Peeta stretches out his arm and I move so my head is resting on his shoulder. I'm sure he's feeling a lot of the same things that I am. It's more than a little terrifying to think that by the end of the day, Kim or Rory or both might be dead. Neither of us speaks. What is there to say? We just lay here together on a bed provided by the very people who may soon take our friends' lives until we hear Effie knock on the door. Let the terror begin.

Everything that happens immediately after is a blur until I somehow find myself on the roof with Rory, waiting for the hovercraft to come and take him away from me. I'm hugging him tightly, thinking the Capitol will have to pry him from my cold, dead arms.

"Usually, the first day is the day with the most deaths," I'm saying, trying to give him as much advice as I can while I've still got him. "The cornucopia in the beginning is always a blood bath. But it will probably be less of one this year. Haymitch told me to ignore the cornucopia, and to immediately run away from the chaos. But I'm going to tell you to use your best judgment. Most people won't be able to hurt you. Be careful, and don't hang around long, but if you think you can grab something safely and quickly, do it. Every little bit helps."

"Thanks, Katniss. For everything," Rory says.

I pull him into another hug to hide the tears that are threatening to slide down my cheeks. "Do me a favor, Rory," I say once I've gotten my optical fluids somewhat under control. "Come home."

Rory smiles, but I can tell his heart isn't really into it. "I'll try. And Katniss?"

"Rory?"

"Take care of my family." Rory's eyes are shiny now, too.

"Take care of them yourself when you come back." We share half-hearted grins. "But I will. You, Gale, me. We all will."

Rory nods. "And Katniss?"

"Rory?"

"Tell Prim…" Rory blushes a bit. "I mean… If something happens…"

"Nothing's going to happen!" I interject quickly, more for my own benefit than Rory's.

"But if it does! I don't want to die without telling her…" Rory shyly looks down at his shoes. "Without telling her that I love her," he sputters quickly.

I hug him again. I can't help it. "She loves you too, Rory. She's crazy about you."

All too soon, the hovercraft appears with a ladder hanging down to the roof. Rory and I hug yet again, squeezing each other harder than ever, losing control over the salty water that filled our eyes. We hold on until the last possible moment, and then my arms are empty and he's moving away from me.

"I love you, Rory!" I call over the noise of the hovercraft, my voice catching.

"I love you, Katniss! You're the big sister I never had!" he shouts back.

And just like that, the ladder pulls my little brother up into the hovercraft and he's gone. I fall to my knees and let out all of the emotions of the morning. My face contorts to reflect the grief and my cheeks are soaked with salty tears. I feel two pairs of arms wrap around me and realize that Peeta and Kim, both with tears in their eyes, have joined me as well.

I allow them to pull me to my feet and pull Kim into a hug. It's amazing what impending doom can do to people. We spent most of this week unable to understand each other, but now I consider her to be a friend.

"Bring Rory home, you two. The rebellion needs him," Kim says, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"The rebellion could use you, too," Peeta insists.

Kim smiles. "Panem needs Rory. And you guys, of course. Take good care of him."

"We will," I interject between sniffles, having finally understood that this is truly Kim's wish, and that she's right. "You take care of yourself, too. Make Panem proud. No matter what happens, nobody will ever forget you." Kim and I hug again.

"I'll miss you, Katniss," Kim says.

"I'll miss you too. Panem is lucky to have spawned somebody as brave as you. Good luck." We let go; I get one last good look at her, before heading for the door, lightly squeezing Peeta's hand as I pass. I figure I should allow mentor and mentee to spend their final moments alone, and I'm having a hard time keeping it together anyway.

I enter our eerily quiet and empty living room, curl up in a ball in the corner of the couch, and continue to cry my eyes out until Peeta comes and joins me.

We can't stay like that for long, though. Effie soon finds us, yells at us for being ungrateful citizens or whatever, and insists that we have to get ready to meet with potential sponsors. Neither Peeta nor I say anything. Effie's rants don't really faze us anymore. Besides, she's right. About the second part, anyway. The meeting with sponsors part.

We've met with potential sponsors a couple of times during the week, while Rory and Kim were at training. Now it's time to seal the deal, as they say. I got lucky, Rory being such a likable person and all. He has plenty of people interested in him. Peeta has had to work a bit harder to get people for Kim, but with his people skills, it didn't take too much effort on his part. Especially since Kim was actually smiling and somewhat charming during her interview.

After drying the tears and changing into something a bit more professional that Cinna left for me, I enter a long room with lots of windows and a big, fancy conference table surrounded by comfy chairs with wheels on the bottom that spin. I have a hard time resisting the urge to play in them every time I come in here, but I know that will look unprofessional.

Potential sponsors fill the seats, with the exception of the one at the head of the table. I sit down in the empty seat and look out at the men and women who have gathered there. I swear, there are more people every time we meet. I'm pretty sure my own potential sponsor meetings didn't generate this kind of a turnout. Or, at least, they wouldn't have if they weren't lumped with Peeta's potential sponsor meetings. Then again, I did have a really high training score and a gorgeous dress for my interview that won over the crowd.

Everyone is looking at me expectantly. We don't have a whole lot of time to conduct this meeting, as it will soon be time for the 75th Hunger Games to officially begin.

"Thank you all for coming," I begin. "I know that most of you have been here before, but for those who haven't, a quick recap of reasons why my cousin Rory is a good investment." As usual, it kills me to have to sell Rory's life as an investment, but at this point, it's the only thing I can do to help him. "First, he's being mentored by me, one of the two legendary victors of the 7th Hunger Games. Second, he's my cousin. People love the dynamics of the family effort. Third, he's a very likable person. He's gotten a very warm response from the citizens of Panem. All of these things make for an interesting show, which means that the gamemakers are likely to want him to stick around to the later stages of the game." With the sponsors, you don't have to pretend that the games are fair. Everyone knows they just want to put on a good show. "Also, he is very skilled with a bow and arrow, not unlike myself. He certainly has the skills necessary to win this. Does anybody have any questions?"

A man a few seats to my right lifts his hand, and I nod at him.

"Duncan Salmon, CEO of the Fish Taco Hut restaurant chain. I talked it over with my department chairs and we agreed to sponsor Rory Hawthorne if we can get the citizens of Panem to see you eating one of our famous Value Menu fish tacos."

So it went on like this for a little while, and pretty soon I had a wealth of signed sponsors, and a lengthy list of strange tasks to do in front of a camera. The things I do for Rory.

I shake about a dozen hands in order to finalize my many agreements and then make my way to the Victors' Lounge, which will soon be turned into the viewing platform for the past victors.

"I'm beginning to understand why the 'Messages from our Sponsors' portions of the games feature people doing such ridiculous things," Peeta says once we're reunited after our separate meetings.

"What are they making you do?" I ask.

"Model rubber duck-shaped hats and demonstrate the use of the automatic banjo, among other things. You?"

"Show off pictures of myself taken by PhotoCapitol Photography and eat fish tacos. Among other things."

"Capitol citizens are weird."

Peeta and I share a smile and go to find seats together on a cushy, white loveseat. We're both trying to keep our minds off of Rory and Kim, because I know I can't cry about them here. But it's a bit difficult to keep my mind off of them when I'm about to watch them ascend into the arena where at least one of them will be lost to me forever. Peeta slips his hand into mine and I squeeze it, trying to take comfort wherever I can get it.

"Welcome, one and all, to the 75th Hunger Games!" exclaims the voice of Caesar Flickerman. His face now fills the huge windowed wall, which has turned into the viewing screen where the events of the games will unfold before our eyes. "The 24 tributes are slipping into their official Hunger Games uniforms and will soon rise up into this year's arena. As is expected, a lot of work went into the creation of this arena in particular. It is a Quarter Quell, after all. But before we get into that, let's take a look at the arenas from the past quells!"

The screens then filled with various angles of the arenas used in the past Quarter Quells, discussing what was unique in each of them and how much work and planning went into their creation. I know all too well how Kim and Rory are feeling right now, and want nothing more than to be with them. Finally, the screen cuts back to Flickerman.

"And now, for the third Quarter Quell, our gamemakers did not disappoint! We have quite the intricate arena ready for you this year. But you'll find out all about that in a minute, which is precisely how long we have until the cannon sounds that begins the 75th Hunger Games! Now remember, the tributes must remain on their individual platforms until the canon sounds. Any tribute who steps off of their platform early will have to deal with the grenades placed around the area. These grenades, of course, will be disabled as soon as the games begin. Without further ado, let's start the 30 second countdown!"

Flickerman's face is replacd by the number 30, which turns into the number 29, then the number 28… I squeeze Peeta's hand harder and harder with each passing second, trying hard to remember to breathe.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The countdown continues to take up the middle of the screen, but the rest is divided up to give us a look at the arena for the very first time. And it's all mountains. Gray, rocky mountains with thickly forested valleys. It's a strangely beautiful sight, for a place where a large group of children will fight to the death.

By the time the clock gets down to 10 seconds, the cameras cut to various angles of a particular mountain in the middle of the arena, where the 24 tributes are now rising out of the ground. Compared with the other mountains, this one appears to be of medium height, but is very steep. The tributes are all standing on their platforms, which are on a ledge about halfway up the mountain. There's a flat area on the top where the traditional cornucopia sits with various weapons and supplies spread out around the ground. To get to it, the tributes will have to rely on their rock climbing skills, which likely aren't very great for most people.

I know that Rory can climb trees, because I've seen him do it before. Tree branches are a great place to hide while hunting. Hopefully he'll be able to apply those skills here.

With 5 seconds left, the cameras scan the tributes, whose eyes all seem to be flickering about the rock wall in front of them, trying to figure out the best way to get to the top. This year, the tributes wear tight-fitting spandex pants, hiking boots, t-shirts, and light-weight winter coats. These should be easy to move in, good for rock climbing. As the camera shifts to Rory, I notice a familiar metal bird pinned to his coat.

My eyebrows raise in recognition and Peeta smiles knowingly, but before I get a chance to say anything, the cannon sounds and the 75th Hunger Games begin. There will be no talking or concentrating on anything until Rory and Kim are safely away from the cornucopia.

The 24 tributes all run to the wall of rock, trying to navigate their ways to the top. People try to knock each other back as they go, but the force fields pop up and block their attempts. Occasionally the power behind the force fields will knock a tribute back to the ledge anyway, but they are protected and unhurt, able to make another attempt at the climb.

The progress is pretty slow for most tributes, as most children in Panem don't really have much experience in this field. Finally, the inevitable happens, and a male tribute (I think from District 7?) loses his footing and falls back to the ledge. There is no force field to help him, as the blunder was his own fault. He hits the rocky ledge with a sickening crunch, parts of his body sticking out in odd directions. The fall wasn't enough to kill him, as he'd barely made it past the halfway point, but with his injuries, he won't last long. He's going to die, and everyone knows it.

The boy tries to move, but the pain seems too much. Where would he go, anyway? His only 2 options are to climb up the mountain with the other tributes, or to climb down an equally lengthy and steep expanse of rock. The latter is the better of his options at this point, of course, but with his broken bones, he'll never be able to make it.

While the boy tries to come to terms with his fate, my attention shifts back to the other tributes. The boy from District 1 is almost at the top, followed closely by the girl from District 3, with Rory not far behind her. The girl from District 9 grabs the ankle of the boy from District 4 and tugs. Apparently he's her target, because his force field doesn't come up to protect him. Surprised by what had been a bit of a sneak attack, the boy from District 4 slides a bit before catching himself, and is now only slightly below the girl from District 9, with his head at her shoulder level. She gives him no time to get his bearings and immediately delivers a knee forcefully into his gut. The wind is knocked out of him, but somehow he keeps his grip, and attempts to push her off the mountain. Her force field blocks the blow as she kicks his shin, causing him to lose his footing and fall to the ledge to await the same fate as the boy from District 7.

A few people cheer for the girl from 9's victory just before she takes a spear to the head, thrown by the boy from District 1, who has finally reached the top. Her body falls next to her broken-but-still-breathing victim, her face frozen in shock. I have a similar expression on my face, as I hadn't seen that coming. However, my shock at the girl from 9's death is short lived as I remember that the fact that the boy from 1 has made it to the top probably means that Rory has too.

Sure enough, the boy from 1, the girl from 3, Rory, the boy from 2, and the girl from 1 have all reached the cornucopia. The other tributes aren't far behind, slowly but surely making progress. Nobody at the top appears to be able to kill each other, considering that force fields keep popping up as the tributes attempt to wrestle each other to get to the best weapons and supplies. I let out a sigh of relief as I realize that Rory has already taken possession of a bow and a sheath of arrows. He grabs a backpack fairly close to the cornucopia, which most likely means that it contains many helpful supplies, and then starts to make his descent down the mountain. That's my Rory, following his mentor's advice.

Kim is almost to the top of the mountain by the time that Rory is about to leave. He helps her up, like the gentlemen he is, before starting the climb back down. She smiles gratefully at him and whispers something that my lip reading skills tell me is 'Good luck!' though it could possibly be 'Gold duck!' or 'Goat lake!' or something. Not one of my better skills.

As Rory carefully maneuvers down the mountain, passing other tributes on their way up, Kim joins the chaos around the cornucopia. Instead of joining the fight for the best weapons like most people, Kim seems to be focusing more on gathering supplies for survival, though she does pick up a few throwing knives. All the while, she looks around frequently, presumably looking for anyone who may try to kill her. She doesn't stay long, leaving as soon as she seems satisfied with the contents of the backpack she just picked up.

Once Rory reaches the ledge, he doesn't begin climbing down the rest of the mountain right away. He stands near the broken body of the boy from District 7, looking a bit on-edge.

"I'm sorry," he says. The microphones are better able to pick up what he's saying now that he's away from the chaos at the top of the mountain, and is no longer whispering. "I'm so sorry. I'll try to make it quick." He sounds sincere, and I think the boy from 7 can tell he means it. The realization hits me that the boy from 7 is Rory's target. At least this time my little brother will be putting somebody out of their misery, but what will happen to him when he has to kill somebody who's perfectly well?

The boy from District 7 nods. "Thank you," he says, the pain evident in his voice.

Rory takes his bow, grabs one of his arrows, and aims at the boy. The boy closed his eyes, never to see the world again. Rory let the arrow fly, and it pierced the boy from 7 straight through the heart, killing him instantly. With a saddened look on his face, Rory retrieves the bloody arrow, salutes the fallen tribute, and grabs the spear that killed the girl from District 9 before continuing down the mountain. Kim is getting close to the ledge now, and other tributes have started the journey back down as well. There's an unmoving body, surrounded by the slower-climbing tributes, at the top of the mountain, the demise of whom I must have missed while I was watching Rory. Even with the 3rd quell rules in place, there's so much death on the first day of the games.

Kim reaches the ledge and wastes no time in beginning the second half of her climb. The boy from district 4 still lies among the dead, scared and in pain. He doesn't have long to wait, as the boy from District 1 soon gets there, stabbing him with a spear identical to the one used to kill the girl from 9. It's not often that one of the careers (tributes from 1, 2, and 4 who train their whole lives to participate in the games) die this early. I'm sure he's glad that it was one of his fellow careers to finish him off, instead of the girl from District 9. Seemingly unfazed by the 2 murders he's already committed, the boy from 1 continues down the mountain.

I sigh and rest my head on Peeta's shoulder. It looks like Rory and Kim are still safe, for now. Both of them reach the bottom of the mountain and run off into the woods, disappearing off the map as far as their attackers are concerned. The rest of the bloodbath is always sad to watch, but this year I find myself more relieved than I ever have while watching it in the past. I guess this is what it's like for the family and friends of the tributes as they watch the games. You feel like you should be more upset than you are about the deaths of other children, but you can't help thinking that your loved ones are that much closer to coming home.

"Does it make me a bad person if I can watch children dying and feel relief?" I whisper to Peeta.

"No," he replies, kissing my head. "That makes you human, Katniss. We want them to come home."

I nod, but can't help feeling anger toward the Capitol for messing up my morals. Murdering children is bad. That's an easy concept, simple and straightforward. How could the Capitol possibly manage to screw that up in my head?

Two more tributes are added to the list of the dead by the time Cornucopia Mountain, as it has come to be called by those of us here on the viewing platform, is deserted. There are a lot of mourning people scattered about Panem, but the bloodbath this year still doesn't compare with those in years past, as was expected. They still held off on firing the cannon, which signals the death of a tribute, but they fire it now. The six explosions echo around the mountainous landscape, the last one hovering in the air just a little too long. All of the past victors partake in a 60-second moment of silence, 10 seconds for each fallen tribute, as I was told is the custom on the viewing platform.

"Did you see Rory's pin?" I ask once the minute is over and normal conversation continues. "It was just like the mockingjay pin I wore last year. I wonder where Portia or Cinna got it?"

Peeta smiles, and I can tell he knows something I don't. "That is your mockingjay pin." When I give him a puzzled look he continues, "Prim gave it to him when she went to visit him after the reaping." The puzzled look doesn't leave my face. "He said that you gave it to her that morning, and that nothing bad would happen to her while she was wearing it. I know we didn't tell you, but Rory wanted to surprise you with it."

I smile. In some strange way, this is almost like finding a note addressed to you, left behind by somebody you've lost. The difference being that I haven't lost Rory yet, and I will see him again. No matter what it takes. To be honest, I've almost forgotten about my mockingjay pin, but knowing that Rory has it comforts me somehow. I hope it comforts Prim, who is watching somebody she loves compete in the games for the second year in a row.

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful as everyone attempts to get their bearings in the mountain range that will be the death place of so many of them. Finally, after the sun has set over the rocky peaks, Panem's anthem starts playing and the seal appears in the sky over the living tributes' heads. One-by-one, the faces of the dead flash before my eyes, and the victors share another 60 seconds of silence. I try to feel sad and remember the families of the fallen, but all I can think about is how glad I am that Kim and Rory still live.

Author's Note: Here is a list of the tributes that are still alive. District 1: Boy and Girl, District 2: Boy and Girl, District 3: Boy and Girl, District 4: Girl, District 5: Boy, District 6: Boy and Girl, District 7: Girl, District 8: Boy, District 9: Boy, District 10: Boy and Girl, District 11: Boy, District 12: Boy and Girl


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice says, sounding muffled and far away.

I murmur stupidly before opening my eyes and taking in the sideways view of a very whitely furnished room and a giant screen showing scenes of mountains and trees bathed in darkness. The viewing platform. I sit up from the position in which I had woken up, with my head in Peeta's lap. It would appear that I somehow managed to fall asleep. I'd refused Peeta's earlier suggestion that we go to bed, because all of the tributes had settled in for the night and we needed our sleep. But the Hunger Games don't take a break. Not really. Anything could happen at any moment, and I don't want to sneak off to my cozy bed while poor Rory fights for his life.

"Hmm," I reply, still trying to pull myself out of a sleepy daze. It's been a stressful week, and I haven't been sleeping much. It's no wonder I fell asleep.

"I know you're worried about Rory and Kim," Peeta says. "But nothing is going to happen before morning, and you're clearly exhausted. Let's go to bed, come on."

Most of the past victors have already left. Nothing exciting has really happened since the end of the bloodbath, and most of them don't have quite as much to lose as I do. Their friends and family are all safe at home.

"Yeah, okay," I say finally. I allow Peeta to pull me up off of the loveseat and lead me back to our bed.

As was to be expected, I didn't sleep well. I suffered from nightmares as usual, but now they've shifted from being about my own days in the arena to scenarios in which Rory is about to be killed, and there's nothing I can do to help him.

Peeta and I get up early, before Effie even has a chance to come knocking on our door. We join our escort at the table for breakfast as usual, with a special TV brought closer to our dining area so that we can watch the games while we eat. The table seems so empty with just the three of us.

"It's nice that both Rory and Kim survived the first day. We're off to another good start this year!" Effie comments cheerfully, as if my friends were merely in some sort of dance competition rather than a fight to the death. Nothing much was happening on the television screen at the moment. Mostly the remaining tributes were just wandering around in search of their own breakfasts. The careers have formed an alliance, despite the quell's rules. I guess some people just aren't good at adjusting for change.

"Yeah, but we've got a long way to go," I reply.

"Yes, well. One day at a time, dear."

"I guess that's really the only way to handle all of this," Peeta says. "I think Katniss and I are going to head down to the viewing platform. We'll see you later, Effie."

"All right, have a good time, you two. But don't forget to honor your commitments! You both have advertisements to film if you want your sponsors to hold up their end of the bargain."

"I forgot about those stupid commercials," I say once Peeta and I are in the elevator.

"Don't worry, they shouldn't take long. They'll be worth it once we can afford to send Rory and Kim what they need."

"I know. I just don't want to have to take too much of a break from watching the games."

"Well, think of it this way. There's nothing you can do to help Rory just by watching. Doing these commercials is the only thing you can do for him now."

"You're right. Bring on the fish tacos."

"Ms. Everdeen!" exclaimed Duncan Salmon the moment Peeta and I entered the viewing platform. Speaking of fish tacos…

"Mr. Salmon. Thank you again for sponsoring Rory."

"Thank me with an advertisement for my restaurant chain! Like we agreed?"

"Of course. When and where do you want me?"

"No time like the present, as they say! Come with me, I've got everything already set up downstairs."

"Now? Oh. Okay," I say as I follow him out the door, looking back at Peeta. This may be the only thing I can do to help Rory, but walking away from the screen still feels like I'm temporarily abandoning him.

"I'll get you updated the moment you get back," Peeta promises before the door closes between us.

About 20 minutes later, I find myself dressed in a fisherman's vest, complete with fancy fishhooks hanging from the pockets, and a sombrero on my head. A sombrero is a type of hat that is supposedly associated with the same culture that invented the taco. Of course, that was all pre-Panem stuff, so nobody really knows too much about the subject.

"Oh, you look perfect!" Duncan Salmon exclaims at the sight of me.

"Somebody get her a script!" says an official-looking man that I guess is the director for this particular little advertisement. He's sitting on a chair facing a picture of one of the locations of the Fish Taco Hut, which I suppose will be the background for this thing. A stagehand with a headset walks by and hands me a piece of paper.

"I don't get to come to the Capitol often," I say, reading my lines aloud. "So when I do, I need to make the most of it. That's why I make sure to stop by the Fish Taco Hut. They have great prices, great food, and give me the energy I need to mentor my cousin, Rory. So as you settle in to watch the 75th Hunger Games with your family, think about stopping by your local Fish Taco Hut. Take bite of fish taco." Unbelievable. I'm being expected to talk about fish tacos like they're a wonderful snack to munch on while 24 children kill each other to stay alive. The Capitol is a sick place.

"You don't say that last part. You do it," the director calls over to me.

"I know. I'm not very good at memorizing stuff."

"Don't worry, we've prepared cue cards for you. Let's get started, everyone!"

I move into position and a stagehand comes by to take my script, replacing it with a half-unwrapped fish taco. It doesn't look particularly appetizing, but 16 years of living in the Seam, and my time as a tribute, has taught me not to be picky about what I eat.

"Everybody into position… and… action!" the director exclaims. Everyone goes silent and stares at me expectantly. I stare blankly back at them, my fish taco in hand.

"Oh, does that mean I'm supposed to do something?" I ask.

"Katniss, action means you start saying your lines."

"Oh. I'm sorry, can we start again?"

"It's no problem, I forgot that you might not be familiar with the terminology. Okay everyone; let's try this again! Places… and… action!"

"I don't get to come to the Capitol often," I begin. "So when I do I… I need to do… to make the most of it. That's why-"

"Cut!"

"That's why I make sure-"

"Katniss, cut means you stop."

"Oh. Sorry."

"That's all right. You seem to be having a bit of trouble with your lines."

"I know, sorry. I'm just not really used to talking in front of a camera like this."

"That's fine, we're used to this. There are always at least three mentors with this problem every year. This is what happens when we use people from the districts instead of actors. Do you want to take a minute to look over the lines some more"

"No, I think I just need to try again."

"All right. Everybody back into position… and… action!"

The filming of Mr. Salmon's commercial was definitely not my favorite part of the day (although, admittedly, there weren't too many contenders for the position). I'm horrible in front of a camera, even when all of my lines are written out in big letters on a poster right in front of me. I went through three fish tacos before it was all over with, but the cameraman was eventually able to record a usable take, and I was allowed to return to the viewing platform to catch up with Peeta.

"You were gone longer than I expected," Peeta says as I join him where he's sitting with a few of the other victors.

"I am ridiculously bad at filming commercials," I explain, earning a few smiles from Peeta's new friends. "I've got my work cut out for me if I want to get that sponsor money for Rory."

"I had problems with that too my first year," says a woman with chocolate brown hair and green eyes. "I'm Cassandra Hopewing, District 9. Your boyfriend here has told me so much about you, it's nice to finally get acquainted."

I blush slightly when Peeta is referred to as my boyfriend, hoping nobody will notice. "It's nice to meet you too," I say. I'm introduced to the other victors of the group, all of whom seem like really nice people. It's really nice to talk to people who have been through the same nightmare that you have. After all, nobody could possibly understand how it feels to be a victor and a mentor like the people in this room do? "Wait, Cassandra, you said you're from District 9?" I ask, suddenly remembering something. "Were you the mentor for the girl from you district?"

Cassandra's expression saddened a bit. "No, I didn't mentor this year. The other District 9 victors and I take turns. But I'm good friends with the woman who was her mentor, of course."

I nod, remembering the death of the girl from District 9 during the bloodbath. I can't imagine how it would feel to lose your tribute this early in the game.

"Her name was Truly. The tribute who died," Cassandra continued. "I never met her before the day of the reaping, and admittedly didn't spend much time with her during the week, but she seemed like a nice young lady. I can't imagine what her family must be going through."

We all have our own moment of silence for Truly and her family. Nobody had to suggest that we do it, we just all knew that it felt right.

"So, what did I miss?" I ask Peeta once conversation has picked back up. I could tell from the fact that Peeta didn't seem to terribly upset that nothing seriously bad had happened to either Rory or Kim, but I would still like to be caught back up.

"We lost the boy from District 6," Peeta replies, a hint of sorrow in his voice. "The careers all tracked him down. He was the girl from 2's target."

"The poor guy," I say. "So I guess the careers are just attacking their targets together, one tribute at a time?"

"That looks like the plan. The boy from 6's death is the only one we've had so far today."

My feelings toward this are still sickeningly twisted. I think that's something I'm definitely going to be struggling with throughout the entirety of the games. "So, how are Kim and Rory doing?"

"They're both still fine. Rory killed himself a squirrel and cooked it up over a fire, and Kim found some edible plants. Most people seem to be laying low at this point, probably hoping this will get a bit easier once the games get down to fewer people."

"Yeah, well. The gamemakers aren't going to let that happen," I point out. It sounds like things have been kind of boring, which means that the gamemakers will undoubtedly be interfering soon. I just hope they'll leave poor Rory and Kim alone.

"I know, I'm worried about that too."

Almost as if the gamemakers have been reading our minds, a horrible earthquake began to violently shake the forest. Trees started falling over, and a giant crack formed in the ground, quickly growing through the dirt. Before anybody had time to process what was happening, a camera cut to Kim, who fell through the crack and out of sight.

Author's Note: Here is a list of the tributes that are still alive. District 1: Boy and Girl, District 2: Boy and Girl, District 3: Boy and Girl, District 4: Girl, District 5: Boy, District 6: Girl, District 7: Girl, District 8: Boy, District 9: Boy, District 10: Boy and Girl, District 11: Boy, District 12: Boy and Girl


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Kim!" Peeta and I shout at the same time. Our panicking in unison would probably earn us a few strange glances if we weren't surrounded by people who were frantically scanning through the multiple camera angles, trying to find their tributes. It's impossible to tell just how deep the crack is from the position of the camera that once held Kim's image, but it must be pretty deep. I can't see Kim at all.

"Wait, where's Rory?" I ask, my eyes darting from screen to screen in search of my dear friend.

"Over there!" Peeta exclaims, pointing over to a screen to our right. Sure enough, there's Rory, quickly climbing down from a tree. With a quake this big, a tree could easily fall over. And he was completely surrounded by the tall, wooden plants. At least he would be able to run and dodge once he was back on the ground.

"Come on, Rory!" I whisper as he makes his way down.

"There you go, Kim!" Peeta says excitedly. I look back over to where Kim had disappeared and now see her head above ground, and her arms and hands near the edge of the crack. Slowly, she's attempting to pull herself back up, but is having a bit of trouble. The shaking is dying down a bit now, but hasn't stopped completely.

I glance back over at Rory, who has finally made it back down and is running for the nearest edge of the forest. He would certainly be safer somewhere where nothing could fall on him, but he was pretty far into the field of trees. The cover of the forest was generally the best place for Rory to be. Sticking to what he knew was a good strategy in most situations, but right now he would definitely be better off in the mountains.

Finally, the shaking stops, and Kim is able to hoist herself up onto solid, unmoving ground. She too is in the forest, and was very lucky that a tree hadn't fallen on her while she was stuck in the giant crack in the Earth. With a relieved expression on his face, Rory stops running and takes a few deep breaths. I really hope he knows to keep moving soon, though. No matter what sort of disaster has struck the arena, there will always be somebody trying to use the confusion to their advantage. More than a few tributes have lost their lives over the years by letting their guard down after surviving some sort of difficult circumstance.

Beside me, Peeta sighs in relief. "Thank God that's over!" he says.

"They made it," I add, letting out my own breath.

"I wouldn't celebrate yet, Sweetheart," a familiar voice behind me suggests.

I flinch a little at the unexpected voice before turning around to see good old Haymitch. Peeta and I haven't seen much of him since our arrival in the Capitol. We've both been really busy, and, honestly, we've been enjoying having a break from him. I sort of assumed Haymitch felt the same way about us. "What are you doing over here?" I ask.

"Hello to you too," Haymitch retorts before taking a sip or two of something he has in a metal flask. "Do you think I'd miss the entertainment of watching you two deal with your first gamemaker trick?"

"You think this is entertainment?" Peeta asks with disbelief.

"Not for the kids, of course not," Haymitch backtracks. "I'm no monster. But watching new mentors go into a panic? Especially when the new mentors are you two? That's entertainment."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. What did you mean when you said we shouldn't celebrate yet?"

"Weren't you watching? What am I saying? Of course you weren't. You weren't watching anybody other than your own tributes."

"Well, did we miss anything important?" Peeta prompts our old mentor.

"Clearly. There was this whole fiasco, and nobody died. And everyone's just as scattered as they were when the quake started."

"Isn't that a good thing?" I ask. "We're not rooting for the death of children here."

"I'm not so sure about that, Sweetheart," Haymitch says, a somewhat amused smile on his face. Has he guessed at what sort conflicting feelings that have been bouncing around my head? Probably. He's probably dealt with them himself at one point or another. "But either way, the problem the gamemakers saw has not been fixed. They're basically right back where they started. Which means-."

"Which means they're going to try something else. To help move the game along," I cut in, the realization hitting me. We're not out of the woods yet.

"Exactly," Haymitch confirms, taking another swig from his flask.

"They're still in danger," Peeta says, catching on.

"Have fun, you two," Haymitch says before going off to rejoin his buddies, or refill his flask, or whatever it is Haymitch does.

I turn to Peeta. Before I get the chance to say anything, the quaking starts again, this time stronger than before. Shocked tributes return to their panicking, unsure of where the safest place to go during an earthquake. They all fall to the ground within seconds, unable to keep their balance on the unsteady ground. My eyes immediately dart to Rory's screen, where he's desperately trying to keep moving, even at a slow crawl, but even that proves difficult. It doesn't really matter, anyway. He's do deep into the forest to make it out into the open any time soon. Then again, maybe that's the gamemakers' plan. Once everyone is in the open, killing is sure to come soon.

But how did anyone expect the tributes to make it anywhere when they can't even stand? A tree fell and landed just 20 feet away from poor Rory. He shuddered slightly, probably imagining what would have happened if the tree had fallen at a slightly different angle. A crack opens up in the ground, similar to the one that Kim had fallen into earlier, but much shorter. It was more like a deep hole, really. It looks as though the world around Rory was falling apart. His panic is showing on his face as he looks frantically around himself, either trying to come up with some sort of survival plan or simply trying to see if any other trees were trying to crush him. As it turns out, a tree is headed right for him at this very moment.

"Rory!" I scream as I see the heavy hunk of wood sway dangerously, the bottom of its trunk cracking under the pressure of the unnatural bend. This is it. My poor Rory is about to be crushed as I watch, and there's nothing I can do to help him.

Suddenly, Rory rolls over into the hole just before the tree comes and covers it. He's safe. He's safe. Currently unsure I am of the forming of other sentences how to.

Tears of pure joy from the small victory slide down my cheeks. I feel Peeta's arm wrap around me and I let out a sigh of relief before finding Kim's screen, remembering that all of this is not over yet. She too has taken on an interesting strategy. Apparently, there had been a fallen tree nearby, and Kim now flattens herself to the bottom-half of one of its sides, undoubtedly hoping that it will now be a bit more difficult, though not completely impossible, for another tree to land on top of her. She holds on tight to one of the branches, the only semi-stable thing about the world around her.

Other tributes on other screens are putting similar plans into action with large rocks, or simply stuck in the middle of the woods with nothing around to protect them and now way to get up and move, simply hoping that the shaking would be over soon. Some are hiding in caves in the mountains, the safest place in the arena right now, patiently waiting for the world to become still again.

Just like last time, the shaking begins to slow.

"Thank God, this will be over soon," I say.

"I don't know how much more of this my nerves can take," Peeta admits.

I nod in agreement. Admittedly, watching a close friend in the games is almost as exhausting as actually being in the games. It feels like you have more to lose, and I guess, in a way, you do. Sure, when you're in the arena, you have your whole life to lose. Everything. But you'll be dead. You won't be around to grieve your losses. However, if someone you love dies, that's something you have to deal with for a long time. Possibly forever. I still haven't stopped missing my dad, and I don't think I ever will.

The quaking continues, even several moments after I thought it would stop. It's slowed down a lot, after all. Last time that meant it was stopping. Confused-looking tributes dot the screen, though they do seem more scared the confused. A few more trees fall in different parts of the forest, but they don't hit anybody. They do scare some tributes quite a bit, though. Some of them attempt to stand, shakily getting to their feet. Their legs are a bit wobbly at first, but they manage to steady them and soon several people are moving again, all of them trying to get away from the trees.

I haven't seen anything from Rory since he hid in the hole in the ground, but I suspect he's just staying put until the quake is over. Kim evidently decides that it would be in her best interest to get moving, as she carefully moves into a standing position, using the fallen tree for support, before walking through the forest as quickly as she could, also headed for a nearby clearing. So that was the plan. Scare the tributes out of the forest after showing them how dangerous it could be during an earthquake, which can be brought on at any time. That certainly makes the forest a bit less appealing.

Soon enough, the first tribute bursts out of the forest and into a clearing near the base of one of the mountains. Not knowing what else to do with himself, the boy (who I believe is from District 3) decided to climb the mountain and find somewhere else to hide out. But the careers had taken advantage of the slowing quake as well. They had been up in the mountains, probably hoping that the high vantage point would help them to find their victims. This meant that they could see the trees falling in the forest, and knew that tributes would be trying to escape. So, being the sneaky people that they are, I guess they decided to wait close by to see if any of their victims came to the clearing by their mountain.

This was a rather predictable move by the careers, but what's the poor boy from 3 supposed to do? He obviously wasn't safe in the forest. I can see the pack of careers waiting for the poor boy on a narrow ledge, but the boy can't see them just yet. His progress is a bit slow, but his predators are patient. It's so incredibly sad that children would be trained to kill. What sort of parent would allow their innocent child to train and become a career?

I can see the sun glint off the knife gripped tightly in the hand of the girl from District 4, her face smug and ready. Her next kill is being handed to her on a silver platter. As the boy gets closer, I can hardly stand to watch. For a moment or so, I bury my face in Peeta's shoulder, but for some reason it seems to be even harder to look away. Finally, the boy's first hand reaches the ledge, followed by the other. Before he even has time to pull himself up, two hands reach out and grab his wrists. The boy's eyes widen in dark surprise as he realizes too late that somebody had been waiting for him. He struggled against the enemy hands, not caring about the drop he would experience should he succeed in freeing his wrists. It wasn't that far down anyway. He would probably be able to walk away with nothing worse than sore muscles, and maybe a few bruises. But he couldn't break away. His wrists were being held by the strong, muscly hands of the boy from District 1, who helped his ally's victim up onto the ledge.

The boy from District 3 now stood face-to-face with the group of people that would, any moment now, be bringing about his demise. The girl from 4 moved forward, knife still in hand.

"How nice of you to join us," she cruelly taunts her victim. I can tell the poor boy is trembling. Apparently the girl from 4 sees this too, as she laughs at him before pulling back her knife, getting ready to go in for the kill. For the boy's sake, I hope it's quick.

She plunges the knife forward, stabbing the boy in the heart. Just as her knife makes contact, however, an arrow hits her square in the back. Her facial expression is one of utter shock as both she and her victim crumple to the ground in a small heap. It isn't until now that I realize the shaking has stopped. The arena around the careers seems to grow silent and unmoving for a fraction of a second as they take in the scene before them. The sound of a canon being fired twice breaks the silence as the careers spin around to see Rory on a ledge just above them, his bow ready with another arrow.

Author's Note: Here is a list of the tributes that are still alive. District 1: Boy and Girl, District 2: Boy and Girl, District 3: Girl, District 5: Boy, District 6: Girl, District 7: Girl, District 8: Boy, District 9: Boy, District 10: Boy and Girl, District 11: Boy, District 12: Boy and Girl


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The careers, having been trained for this for years, don't take long to snap into action. They whip out their weapons so fast it almost seems like they came from mid-air. Rory crouches behind a rock as the boy from District 2 throws a knife where his head had just been. I guess he has no way of knowing whether anybody in the group has the ability to kill him.

"What's he doing?" asks the girl from 1, clearly uneasy about the situation.

"If any of us were his target he would have shot somebody by now," reasoned the boy from 1. "He's just looking for an opportunity to escape in case one of us has the ability to kill him."

That's precisely what I'm worried about. Why else would he be waiting so long?

"What are you waiting for?" the girl from 1 demands, her hand ready with a throwing knife.

Judging by the fact that the careers don't seem to be rushing up to commit another murder, I assume that none of them are Rory's assassin. My mentee seems to make the same assumption.

Rory stands up, bow and arrow still in his hands, though he wasn't aiming at anything. The careers remained in their battle-ready stances, but didn't move to attack.

Suddenly, in one motion, Rory lifted his bow and let loose an arrow in the direction of the girl from District 2. Nobody even has time to react to the sudden attack before the girl's force field goes up and Rory runs off out of sight. The careers seem very confused about what had happened, but I think I know. He was looking for the weak spot on the force field. Because everyone's device is the same, the weak bit is likely to be in the same spot on everyone's. Smart kid.

"What was that?" Peeta asks.

I shrug, starting to feel a little guilty that Kim doesn't have the same knowledge that Rory does. Maybe he'll tell her if he runs into her in the arena. That seems like something he'd do. "I guess he just wanted to distract them while he escaped?" I suggest.

"Maybe. He lost an arrow in the process, though."

With Rory seemingly safe and sound, I scan the screens until I see Kim again. She's on her feet and walking, probably trying to get away from the aftermath.

It's starting to get late, and I'm sure the tributes are all starving. I'm pretty hungry myself, now that the major stress is over and my body is allowing me to feel things that aren't fear. Some tributes have a bit of food they obtained from the cornucopia; others manage to find some edible plants. One lucky tribute finds a bird's nest with eggs in it, which they carefully cook over a fire. This tribute becomes less lucky when the careers see the smoke and come over to investigate. None of them were able to kill the poor egg girl, but they did steal her meal. I guess forcing somebody into starvation doesn't count as murder in the gamemakers' heads, but in mine it does.

It grows dark quickly, and it isn't long before I hear the Capitol's anthem and watch in silence as the faces of the three fallen victors flash across the sky. It's disturbing, as always, to stare into the faces of children who will only ever again be so lively in pictures.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" requests a high, squeaky voice from the middle of the room. I look over to see Lidel LaFleur and that blue hair of hers again.

Many of the mentors around me sigh. I haven't seen Lidel since the first day of training when she told us the details of the Quarter Quell. It's been kind of nice.

"We've officially reached the end of day 2 of the 75th Hunger Games! Congratulations to all of the tributes who have made it this far, and congratulations to their mentors! As this is typically the part of the games where mentors start to send things to their tributes, I would like to take a moment to remind everyone of the process. The touch order screens are set up against the wall behind me. You need to log in to make a purchase, so please recall that your username will be your first name followed by your district number. Your password should be kept private, and can be obtained from your district's escort.

"Once logged in, you will see your current total of sponsor money in the upper left-hand corner. You can search for specific items by going through the categories, or by using the search bar at the top. Select the items you wish to purchase and add them to your 'shopping cart' as the Ancient Mayas used to say! You can then purchase the items by 'checking out.' Thank you for shopping with us! If you have any questions, I'll be around!"

Lidel leaves (around indeed), and conversation pick up among the victors who have each heard the spiel before. My head is spinning slightly with all of the unfamiliar technology and the 'shopping cars' or whatever. One thing is for sure; I'm not asking Lidel for help. I'm sure Beetee would help if I asked him.

"That's quite a process," Peeta comments.

"She makes it sound more complicated than it really is," Cassandra says reassuringly. "This is probably as close as she'll ever get to that fame Capitol children grow up craving, so she overdoes everything."

"Somehow I still think I'll have trouble," I say. "And now I have to figure out what to spend all the sponsor money on. Didn't think about that."

"It's tough, mentoring for the first time. You'll get the hang of it," says Collin Randolph, the mentor for the boy from District 3.

"It's still early, and Kim and Rory seem to be doing fine so far. Why don't we just start with some water, or a bit of food?" Peeta suggests.

"But remember, prices go up the further into the games you go," Collin warns. "If you have any plans to purchase something expensive, it's best to do it now."

This gives me food for thought as Peeta and I finally head off to bed, knowing our friends survived another day. Sleep doesn't come easy to me, as I lie awake trying to make huge decisions on Rory's behalf that might mean the difference between life and death. I should have talked with him before he left to see if there was anything in particular he thought he would need, but I didn't think about it. I worry about my lack of mentor experience becoming Rory's downfall as I drift off into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, I'm pleased to hear that nobody died while I slept. Right now, that's the best news I can hear in the morning.

Peeta and I each film a few sponsor ads before lunchtime (my acting skills have not improved, for the record), after which I decide to catch up with Beetee and Wiress in the Victors' Lounge.

"Hey, guys," I say.

"Hey, Katniss. You been doing sponsor stuff all morning?" Beetee asks.

I nod. "Acting is not my calling. What's been going on in the games?"

Beetee informs me that there have been no deaths yet today. The most interesting thing that's happened is the boy from District 5 trying to hunt for the first time, and failing miserably at it. I'm reminded of what Kim said once about the Capitol laughing at tributes when they attempt to use the new skills they learned during training.

"Hunt!" Wiress exclaims. She's pointing at one of the screens.

I look up to see that, sure enough, the careers seemed to be on the hunt for their next victim. Because of yesterday's encounter, I know they're not after Rory. But it's still creepy a group of kids trying to track down and kill another kid.

"I don't get the careers," Beetee comments. "It's like they're supporting the power the Capitol has over the districts. They're just as oppressed as anybody."

"I've never understood why anybody would want to go into the arena. Most people don't come back out," I agree. "Where are their survival instincts?"

On the screen in front of me, I can see a girl (from District 10, I think) crouched near a small creek, collecting water into a small canteen. For her sake, I hope it's safe to drink.

There's a slight crunching sound coming from behind her, and she whips her head around to find herself staring at the careers, all four of them grinning from ear to ear. The color drains from the poor girl's face. She scrambles to her feet and takes off running, leaving a backpack behind in her haste. The girl from District 1 takes the time to pick it up before she joins her fellow careers in the chase. This is what those sick children live for.

This girl is fast, I'll give her that. Of course, I know from experience that running isn't hard when you're running for your life. And the careers are fast too, from years of training. It's not likely that this will end well for her.

It's practically silent in the Victors' Lounge as everyone anxiously watches the chase. I can't imagine being her mentor right now. She holds out for a while, but her hunger (and, apparently, her thirst) are bound to be weakening her. Tragically, she trips over the uneven ground (of course the chasers never trip, it's always the chase).

I don't know what to do at this point. I want to look away. The terror on the girl's face is too familiar, too much to bear. For some reason, I keep watching as the boy from District 2 pulls out a knife and delivers a lethal blow. A cannon fires, and the Hunger Games claims another victim. We're all silent for 10 seconds as the boy from 2's fellow careers pat him on the back in congratulations. The boy seems unfazed by this and merely checks his wristband, ready to find his next victim.

Satisfied that the killing is over for the time being, I turn back to Beetee and Wiress.

"That poor girl," I say. It's a strange expression that doesn't quite cover the fact that somebody's just been murdered while a whole country watched, but I don't know what else to say.

"Something's wrong," Beetee says.

"What do you mean?"

In response, Beetee points back at the screen. My eyes follow his finger and come to rest on the boy from District 2, still standing where I left him. He hasn't moved at all, he's just standing there with a knife in his hand.

"What- Ahh!" exclaimed the boy from District 1 as the boy from District 2 turned around suddenly and plunged his knife into his fellow District 2 tribute. An expression of pure shock froze on the girl's face as her body crumpled to the ground. Another cannon fired. Ten seconds of silence fell over the Victors' Lounge. Several more seconds of silence followed as everyone tried to process what had just happened.

The boy from 2 carried his knife, now red with the blood of two victims, and walked off without a backward glance. Both District 1 tributes made stunned eye contact with one another for a brief moment before following suit.

A boy just turned around and stabbed somebody from his own district like it was nothing. Maybe now, at least, the remaining careers will start to rethink their alliance.

A few hours later, Peeta comes and retrieves me after kindly introducing himself to Beetee and Wiress. I know he thinks they're crazy, but at least he's making an effort to keep me happy.

"What have I missed?" Peeta asks after I say goodbye to my friends. He spent part of the afternoon fulfilling sponsor agreements.

I told him that, after the whole career double murder, not much had happened, apart from individual struggles. Survival skills were being tested all around, but nobody else had died in his absence.

"That boy from District 2 is intense," Peeta says once I finish filling him in. We didn't get a chance to talk about it before he had to leave.

I nod. "I can't say I'm surprised, he is a career. But it was weird seeing one of them turn on another like that. Normally that doesn't happen until the end of the games when they finally go every man for himself."

"It's still weird how they can be so casual about it. She was from his district! He may have known her for years," Peeta says somberly. "Anyway, now might be a good time to see if we can figure out those ordering screens. I had Effie write down our passwords for us."

I'm still thinking about whether or not I want to go ahead and make a big purchase, and I know I don't have long to think about it before prices go up, but I figure I don't have to make any big decisions today. For now, I think I'll stick with some food and water.

I manage to log on to one of the devices (with Peeta's help) and I'm greeted with a list of different categories such as edibles, survival equipment, first aid, weaponry, and fashion. No, the fashion thing is not a joke. I mean, it's mostly just things like practical arena clothing, but why label that category 'fashion'?

Peeta and I poke around for a while (literally, I still don't know how the machine manages to know where I touch it) just to see what sorts of things they have to offer. I wonder if I should purchase a few more arrows for Rory, but then decide against it. He still has plenty, and I don't want to weight him down. Agility is key.

Finally, I pick out a canteen full of fresh water, a thermos of soup, and a few rolls. Rory really is doing well with finding food and water on his own, but I know he must be missing fresh food.

After we complete our orders, Peeta and I rejoin the other victors in time to hear the Capitol anthem and watch the faces of the two fallen tributes flash across the sky. Both killed by the same person, within minutes of each other. I squeeze Peeta's hand, just thankful that neither Rory nor Kim are staring back at me from the clouds.

Author's Note: Here is a list of the tributes that are still alive. District 1: Boy and Girl, District 2: Boy, District 3: Girl, District 5: Boy, District 6: Girl, District 7: Girl, District 8: Boy, District 9: Boy, District 10: Boy, District 11: Boy, District 12: Boy and Girl


End file.
